Brought Together
by Norakami
Summary: Yato's world is completely thrown upside down upon finding a baby-literally-on his doorstep, with a note claiming the child to be his. Not knowing what else to do, Yato calls his old neighbor and friend Iki Hiyori. Together, they fumble through the awkward stages of early parenthood in order to properly raise the child.
1. Introduction

Author: Hey guys! This story is based off of tumblr user eerna's comic, so the initial credit goes to her for this adorable idea! I was coincidentally already working on a different fic centered around the topic of adoption, but this one is quite different. If any errors are spotted, please let me know! I hope you enjoy the first chapter. :D

 **Chapter 1: Introduction**

"Yato...how did this _happen?"_

The day had started out normally, for the most part; Hiyori had gotten a head start on her school break, having taken a jog around town early that morning. Her phone had gone off thirty minutes in, signalling a call from Yato.

Yato was an ex-neighbor-he'd used to live next door to her with his parents, but the moment he turned eighteen he had flown the nest, so to say.

He'd gotten a small apartment across town, and had taken a self-employment job as an artist.

He'd sounded frantic, telling her that he needed her to come over right away. They hadn't spoken in a few weeks, and Hiyori immediately found herself curious to ask why.

In his panic, he hadn't been able to give any real answer. So Hiyori made a split-second decision, telling him that she'd be over soon.

She would have never dreamed that the visit would have lead to _this,_ though.

"I didn't know who else to call," Yato said, pacing, "but, you're a girl-don't you know what to do?"

"Yato, I'm a _high school_ student! How would I know _anything_ about babies?"

Babies. Yato's problem was currently asleep in the center of his bed. The child wasn't too awfully young, but he wasn't that old, either. If Hiyori had to guess, she would have pegged him at around a year.

"You still haven't even answered my question, anyway. I was asking, _how_ did you end up with a _baby?_ "

Yato was the last person she would have ever guessed to end up with children; he didn't particularly like them, and he spent most of the time cooped up in his flat, anyway.

"He-he was outside of my door this morning."

"What? Yato, do you know how cliche that sou-,"

"I'm not bullshitting you! Look, he was left in this car seat, and there was a note...Hiyori, I think he's mine."

"He looks nothing like you." Hiyori's response was immediate.

"Obviously! But those eyes, he kinda reminds me of this girl I had s-,"

"Yato!" Hiyori nearly shrieked, face heating up from embarrassment. "I don't want to know about your extracurricular activities! ...Don't you use condoms?"

"Of course I do! But it was a party, and I was drunk…she was attractive, okay? I didn't think it would go anywhere that night, but _apparently,_ it did."

"Great," Hiyori placed a hand against her head, "so what did the note say?"

"Just that it was my kid, and that she couldn't take care of him anymore. She even left his birth certificate..."

Yato's tone became evasive, the way it did when he was hiding something. Hiyori stayed silent, however. "Where's the certificate?"

Without saying a word, Yato handed over the piece of paper.

"Yukine...his name is Yukine? He was born eleven months ago."

"So what do I do?"

Hiyori couldn't answer. What was she supposed to tell him? She was a high schooler, and her knowledge of babies only extended so far. But, she was well aware that her friend needed help. "Well, if you can't take care of him...you can always call the authorities, Yato."

"A-are you...insinuating I give him to the state?" Yato's throat went dry.

"No. No, I can't. I'll figure this out, I'll-,"

The conversation rolled to a screeching halt as a fuss sounded.

Yukine was awake, and between their talking, he'd crawled to the edge of the bed and started looking around the room.

"...Mama?"

"Shit." Yato cursed, knowing that the child would start screaming any second, now.

"Honey, oh no." Hiyori was immediately taken, scooping Yukine up and bouncing him gently in her arms.

"Nooo!"

The girl found herself at a loss. He'd started crying inconsolably, squirming in Hiyori's hold as he struggled to get down. "Mama! Mama!"

"Yato what do I do?" Hiyori was panicking-but Yato wasn't much better. He looked around the room, nearly tripping over his own feet when he spotted a few toys by the car seat.

That would have to work, right?

Grabbing the toys, Yato did his best to redirect Yukine's attention to them. It didn't seem to do much good; he was still crying, and even screamed louder when the toys were brought closer.

"Y, you don't think he's hurt, do you?" Hiyori was near tears herself.

"I don't think so-he just wants his mom! Here, give him to me."

Yato took the child from Hiyori, sitting on the edge of the bed with him. "Hey there, Yukine. Shh...hey-hey, look at me." The young man did his best to use a calm voice, and it actually appeared to work.

Yukine's cries died down and he looked up at Yato with watery eyes, sniffling. "Mama…"

"Mama isn't here right now," Yato spoke, voice quiet, "I'm here, though. I won't leave you alone, okay?" Sighing, he pulled the child close and rubbed his back.

"How could she just do this to him? He's known her face for this long-and out of nowhere, she just…"

"...I'm sure she was just doing what she thought was best." Hiyori sounded unsure of herself as she sat down next to Yato. She reached over to brush some of Yukine's hair from his face, giving him a small smile of reassurance.

"...I don't even have the supplies…" What did babies eat? "Should he still be on the bottle or does he eat actual food or something? He's probably hungry."

"Hm...he should be eating soft things, I think. Like baby food...What did you have for dinner last night?" Without waiting on a response, Hiyori was already on her feet and heading to the kitchen. Peeking through the cabinets, she eventually came upon a can of peaches. "That might work…" She spoke to herself, grabbing the can and moving to dump the contents into the food processor.

"Should we put him in the car seat first? I don't have one of those baby chairs."

"How much money did your parents give you this month for spending?" Hiyori lifted her head to look at Yato as he came into the kitchen, awkwardly holding Yukine under one arm. "Ahh-Yato, he isn't a football! You can't hold him like that!"

"Hm?" Yato looked down to the dangling infant, before shrugging and adjusting his hold. "They gave me about two hundred, and I got about one fifty for commissions this month…"

"What? That won't do! Proper baby supplies can cost a lot more. You're going to have to tell your parents."

"No way! Look Hiyori, I'm sure I can-,"

"Five thousand."

"...What?"

"Baby supplies, just for a year alone, can cost up to at least five thousand dollars. We did the math in my Home Economics class." As Hiyori delivered the news, it slowly sunk in.

"Fuck." Yato cursed, visibly recoiling at the expression Hiyori shot him. "Look, I _can't_ tell my parents. They think I'm a huge stain on society as it is, and this would just be another nail in the coffin for me. His mom's had him for a year, right? She _has_ to have his stuff. I'll get in touch with her, and I guess I'll get a moving truck to transport his shi-stuff."

"Do you even remember her name?" Hiyori was judging him, and he knew it.

"Er...no. But, it shouldn't be _too_ hard! How many people live in this city with these eyes?" Yato jabbed a finger towards Yukine, who grabbed onto it and stuck it in his mouth.

"Egh, kid!" Yato shouted, startling the child. Upon hearing Yukine whine, Yato froze and once again mumbled an expletive.

"Look here, Yukine-kun," Hiyori diverted the boy's attention, dumping the peaches into a bowl and offering him a spoonful of it, "look at this, doesn't it look yummy?"

Thankfully, Yukine's attention shifted to focus on the brightly colored goop that Hiyori was offering him. He grinned, reaching out past the spoon and towards the bowl, curling tiny fingers around the rim and tugging on it.

"Ah-Yukine-kun, no-!"

The peach puree tipped in her hands unexpectedly, going all over the child's front.

Yukine started laughing, kicking his feet and flinging remnants of peach onto Hiyori's shirt.

"Yato, I don't think he was hungry. Just-go give him a bath! Afterwards, we are calling your parents!" Leaving no room for argument, Hiyori left the kitchen.

"Hey! Where are you going? You can't just leave me hanging like this!"

"I'm borrowing one of your shirts!"

Yato couldn't tell if Hiyori was upset, or not. Looking down at Yukine, he issued a sigh. "How do I even bathe a baby?" He just wasn't cut out for this, was he?

Looking towards the sink, he decided where he would start.

* * *

"Well, you seem to have figured it out." Hiyori smiled as she came back into the kitchen, watching as Yato dumped a cup of water over Yukine's head.

"All I can really do is rinse him off...don't got any baby shampoo or anything like that. Some of it got in his hair though and I don't think it's gonna come out without any shampoo..."

Hiyori moved to stand next to him, placing a hand against her chin. "Well, if you lean him back...ahh, but that might scare him."

"What about clothes? He doesn't have anything to wear." Resigning himself, Yato started picking the peach bits out of Yukine's hair.

"I put his pajamas in the wash with my shirt, don't worry about that. I guess, get as much as you can out. We'll just have to re-bathe him later once we get the supplies."

"Are you even sure my parents will agree to this? My dad's a hard-ass when it comes to giving me money in the first place. Well, not when it comes to Mizuchi. But she's his baby, and all that."

"Even so, your mom has some say in where the money goes. You don't have a choice, in this case…"

"Agh!" Yato tipped his head back with a frustrated whine. "I don't _want_ to tell my parents about this! It'd be easier to tell them I _died,_ or something!"

"Yato…" Hiyori was frowning now. "Do you really think they hate you that much?"

"Hell yeah, I do! They couldn't wait to be rid of me. I even overheard dad telling Mizuchi that I was a failure, anyway. 'Being an artist isn't a real job, he's gonna end up homeless if he chooses that profession'. I was determined to prove them wrong, but…!" Yato stopped, bracing his palms against the counter. Water dripped onto the floor, but he didn't seem to notice.

Hiyori placed her hand on his shoulder, debating what to say. "I'm sorry, Yato. I...I never knew. But, Yukine-kun...you're all he _has,_ now. Maybe you can prove your parents wrong by giving _him_ what they didn't give to _you_. But you need the help," Hiyori looked away, "so I'll see what I can do. My brother's a doctor, so even if I can't get my parents involved either, I'm sure he'll help us. I know he has the money, so…"

Yato wanted to refuse. Every fiber of his being told him not to accept it, but he knew it wasn't for himself.

"I...alright. It's not that I want to, 'cause I don't. It's humiliating. But he needs it, and…" Yato shook his head, trying to gather his composure. "Call him up and see if he'll wire it over. Tell him I'll pay him back, it's just gonna take a while."

Wordlessly, Hiyori nodded. "Don't worry, we'll figure it out."

Upon her leaving, Yato looked back down towards Yukine. "We can't keep her involved, you know. She's just a kid herself." He gave the baby a sad smile, and Yukine smiled back. He splashed in the water, bouncing as he reached out towards Yato. "Hah, alright. C'mon, kid. You're all clean, so let's get you out and dried."

* * *

"Shit. Uh, Hiyori?" The girl had just come around the corner when Yato called her over.

"He agreed to send the money. What is it, Yato?" Hiyori saw the worried look on her friend's face and immediately grew concerned.

"I don't have any diapers."

Hiyori paled, coming to the same conclusion just before the words had finished leaving Yato's mouth. "W-w-well, maybe he can hold off without one for a little while!"

"He's not even a year old! Shit, what if he pees on me? Look around for something we can use to cover him!" Yato cried.

"What about the towel?" Hiyori tried to propose an idea, but Yato shook his head.

"No good, I put it on the floor to mop up the water!" He countered, holding Yukine at arm's length.

"Th-then, what? What am I-,"

"Ahh, just hurry!" Yato had become panicked.

This caused Hiyori to panic as well. But she was better under pressure, and she soon gained an idea. "Give me the fluffy fluff!"

The fluffy fluff; or, the home-made scarf Mizuchi had made Yato. He had been wearing it since early high school. Not wasting a moment, Hiyori reached to untie it.

"What? No! No, no! Give it back! Give it ba-!"

A moment of silence passed as Hiyori stuck the scarf underneath Yukine, and they both exchanged a horrified look just in time to see-and feel-the scarf grow warm.

" _Fuck,_ Hiyori…"

"I'm sorry! I didn't have anything else-I'll put it in the wash!" Hiyori was mortified, and looked as if she was about to cry. "I...just ruined it, didn't I?"

"Well," Yato sighed, pursing his lips, "it's not your fault. At least it didn't get on me. I probably should have thrown it out a long time ag-ago, a-anyway..." It was even hard to say, and Yato held back a sniff. "We should just grab another towel to put on him. We're going to the store, then?"

"Uhh, yes!" Wiping her eyes, Hiyori nodded in response. "As soon as the clothes finish drying!"


	2. Introductory's End

**Author** : Thank you for the feedback! :D This chapter's a bit shorter, but I don't intend the actual chapters to be that long. This basically wraps up the introductory segment, so the story will progress a bit in the next chapter. I'll write more for this tomorrow!

 **Chapter 2: Introductory's End**

"I've never seen this much cash in my entire life…"

Hiyori rolled her eyes. "Don't look at it like that! You know what it's for. Now, there's a baby store about two blocks from here. You can carry him, can't you?" She pointed to the car seat, looking down towards Yukine to make sure he was okay.

"Of course I do! I can admire it, can't I? This is the first and probably last time I'll ever be able to touch this much cash. And I carried him all the way to the bank, so I'm sure that a couple more blocks won't hurt me."

"Yukine-kun, your daddy is silly, isn't he?" The coo earned a few happy gurgles of agreement, Yukine babbling back in response. "Well, I was just meaning that I'll take him if you were tired." She changed her tone to stand straight, crossing her arms with a huff.

Yato blushed, feeling just a bit weird upon hearing Hiyori refer to him with the foreign title. "Oh. I knew that. Well, sure, if you want to take him...just don't drop him, though!" Yato handed the carrier over, averting his gaze.

"I would never! I'm real careful with babies. Aren't I, Yukine-kun?" Hiyori giggled, turning to walk ahead. Yato took his time, making a mental check-list of things he would need. _I'd definitely need a crib, diapers, one of those baby feeding chairs, clothes, probably toys…Ah, I'd probably need a few of those baby gates, too..._

"Yato, we're here."

Hiyori's words brought him out of his thoughts. "I didn't prepare a list. I think we should shop for at least the essentials first; luxuries can come afterwards." Her words coincided with his thoughts, and he nodded subconsciously.

"I already thought that, I just didn't say anything. ...How are we gonna get this stuff to my apartment?" Yato had thought about getting the furniture, but he hadn't given thought to actually transporting the stuff.

"Didn't you count the money? Masaomi gave you more than you asked for. It's well over enough to get the supplies and transport it. As a piece of advice, too...he also wanted me to talk to you about getting a job. You live in a one bedroom apartment, and once Yukine-kun gets older, it's going to get cramped."

"Ahh..." Yato emitted a defeated noise of agreement. He hadn't thought that far ahead, but Hiyori was right. "What about him? I couldn't leave him alone during the day." He had no problem looking for work, but he had no childcare plans. Not this early.

"Well, if you get a second shift, I could babysit. I have no problem with it, and I'm sure my parents won't mind if I tell them I picked up a babysitting job. He could even spend the night with me on weekends! That would be lots of fun." Hiyori was very exuberant over the plans, Yato could tell.

"I had no idea you liked children this much, Hiyori." Yato teased her, watching his friend grow a steady shade of red.

"Y-you've got it wrong! Yukine-kun's just grown on me, that's all." She covered her embarrassment up with a firm interjection, clearing her throat. "Come on, then! We have shopping to do! We got here early, so there's a chance we could convince them to deliver the furniture this evening." With that said, Hiyori disappeared into the store.

Yato chuckled, thoroughly amused by the girl's antics. "She really is something, isn't she…?"

* * *

"I never thought I'd be this happy to be home in my life. I never want to leave my apartment again." Yato groaned, sinking into the couch. They'd spent nearly three hours shopping, and the rest of the night had been spent just setting the crib up in his room.

"I think Yukine-kun enjoyed it, though." Hiyori came out of the bathroom, drying the child's fluffy blond hair with the hood of the infant towel he was wrapped in. "It's going to get a little cold tonight, so make sure you wrap him up completely. But not too tight. Try to keep it below-,"

"I got it, Hiyori. Jeez, if I didn't know any better, I'd assume you were his actual mother." Yato cracked an eye open, enjoying the red hue that suddenly spread over the girl's face.

"I'm just worried, okay?" She huffed, grabbing a diaper out of the bag sitting next to the couch. "You've never really spent time with babies before, and-oh, what are you doing, you little imp?" Hiyori paused mid-lecture, redirecting her attention to Yukine. He'd pulled his foot up to his mouth, chewing on his toes. "Don't put your piggies in there." She pulled his foot away, tapping him on the nose.

"No!" Yukine pouted, giving Hiyori his best angry look.

"Here, you want this?" Hiyori was an expert at redirecting the child's attention, handing him the unidentifiable fluff plush that had come in his car seat.

"Fuff!" The boy made a sound similar to a gasp, reaching out and hugging the plush toy to his chest. "Mmmama.." He buried his face into the fluffy surface, jamming his thumb into his mouth contentedly.

"I really do think he misses his mom…" Hiyori murmured sadly. She finished putting his pajamas on, sitting him down next to Yato. "You watch him, I'll go wash the dishes, then I'll head home." Hiyori patted Yukine's head, getting to her feet.

"You don't have to do that, just leave them. I'll do them before I go to bed." Yato was quick to deter his friend, but she was adamant.

"Nonsense, you put together three pieces of furniture today. All I did was the shopping. I don't even have school for the next two weeks, so it's fine if I get home a little later than usual. Find something he wants to watch, and I'll be done before you know it."

Yato found that he couldn't really argue; truthfully, he was exhausted. "Fine, fine...alright, kid, yell if you see something you wanna watch." He didn't actually expect Yukine to respond, but flipping through the channels, Yukine suddenly yelled.

"Ha-na!" He sat up on his knees and bounced, pointing to the TV. "Ha-na! Ha-na!"

"Ha-na? Oh. Hanna Kappa...?" Yato's eyebrow raised, clearly not familiar with the program in question. "Welp. Alright, whatever." He flipped the remote to the side, folding his arms across his chest and propping his feet up on the coffee table. "It's whatever you want to watch, kid." He mumbled between a yawn. Yukine cheered excitedly, clapping his hands around his plush toy and snuggling in next to Yato.

* * *

"Alright Yato, I'm done for the night, so-," Hiyori paused, stopping in the doorway. She wasn't surprised to see them both asleep, the TV still running. The girl found herself smiling, walking over to silently pick her phone up and snap a picture. Setting the phone back down, she carefully scooped Yukine up and relocated him to the crib.

Returning to the living room, she gave Yato's shoulder a slight nudge. "Yato," she whispered, "I put Yukine-kun to bed. You need to go too, okay?"

Her words only somewhat roused her friend, the raven muttering under his breath as he sluggishly pulled himself to his feet. "Thank you, Hiyori…" He yawned, sniffing as she waved him off.

"It's no big deal. I'll see you two tomorrow." Hiyori let herself out after grabbing her phone, adjusting her shoes as she started out down the stairs.

Even though a lot had happened since that morning, she was happy. Yato had found his purpose in an unexpected way, and Hiyori predicted that nothing but good would come of it.


	3. Bonding

**Author:** A bit of time progressed here; I intend to cover Yukine's party and meeting Yato's parents next chapter, but the other half of it will probably take place when he's about two and a half. I'll try to explain it best I can! In the mean time, enjoy some HiyoYuki bonding. :D (These chapters will probably end up being pretty short, I think.)

 **Chapter 3: Bonding**

"Okay Yukine-kun, now say 'ball'."

"Baaa'h."

"He's kind of getting it!" Hiyori cheered quietly to herself as she put the flashcards down, looking back towards Yato as he came into the kitchen. "I got him to say five new words." It was an improvement, to say the least.

"Mm." Yato offered a distracted sound of acknowledgement, looking over to check the wall clock.

"Is something wrong? I was expecting something a little more enthusiastic…" It was very out of the norm for Yato, so Hiyori made a point of bringing it up.

"No, it's nothing," Yato responded with a sigh, plunking down onto one of the kitchen chairs, "I… kind of ran into my mother last week. She saw Yukine and now she's insisting I throw his party at their house. It figures, I've gone almost two months being able to hide him. And now..."

Hiyori frowned, turning herself around to face her friend. "But surely she wasn't mad if she wants to have his party there, right? It isn't for another few days, so..."

"She was angry that I didn't tell her about him. My dad is pissed about it in general. He told me I wasn't cut out to be a parent over the phone. That I don't understand how hard it is." Yato's face fell. "But damn it, I've been trying, and...he seems fine! He's actually pretty happy, from what I can tell. And now I'm just in this sour mood and it's gonna ruin my first impression for the job."

"Kazuma-san is pretty understanding, Yato," Hiyori smiled, reaching out to fix the young man's tie, "You two are friends, so he knows how you usually are. As long as you don't let it interfere with how you interact with people, it should be fine."

"Yeah...thanks, Hiyori. I know I can do it, it's just gonna take the extra effort." Yato bowed his head and got to his feet, grabbing his jacket. "You and your folks are gonna come to the party, right? I'm hoping that since there'll be more people, my dad'll be less likely to cause a scene." There was a slim chance, but it was all he had.

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it!" Hiyori smiled, turning back towards Yukine. "We're going to have so much fun tonight, Yukine-kun! I've been watching some aerobic videos that I know you're going to love trying!" She was pretty excited about it, honestly.

"Well, okay. If he gets hungry, I left his dinner in the fridge. You can just nuke it for about a minute-don't let it get too hot." Walking over to Yukine, Yato pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "Daddy's gotta go to work, so I'll see you in a few hours, Yukine. Go easy on Hiyori." He smiled, heading to the door.

Yukine watched him, gaining a very concerned look when he saw Yato go to leave without him. "No!" He reached out towards Yato, face scrunching up. "No go! No!"

"It's alright, Yukine-kun...he's only going to be gone a little while, okay?" Hiyori had already anticipated a fuss, honestly, so she wasn't surprised when he started yelling and kicking his feet against his chair.

"Nooo!" He sobbed in frustration, face growing red. "Da-da, no!"

That particular word made both of them hesitate.

"Did he just say…?" In the entire time he'd had him, Yato hadn't been able to get Yukine to say the word. But now that he was fixing to leave, the child had finally used it.

"Da-da…" Yukine reached for him again, opening and closing his hands.

"Agh…" Yato rubbed the back of his neck. "You're way too smart, for a baby." He complained openly, walking back over to Yukine and picking him up out of his chair. "I have to go now, okay? I'll be back, I promise. I'm not leaving you." He was very careful in how he worded it, but the child only responded by hugging him tightly.

What am I going to do? He mouthed the question to Hiyori, and the girl offered a sad smile in response.

"I think we should schedule his naps around the time you go to work." She responded finally, walking over to him to pull Yukine away. The child yelled in response, starting to cry again as he saw Yato head for the door a second time.

"Yukine-kun, it's alright...shh." Hiyori shushed him, rubbing at his back as Yato left. She knew he'd wear himself out, so she was prepared.

"No!" Yukine disagreed, shaking his head.

"'No' is your favorite word, huh?" Despite the child's frustration, Hiyori did her best to redirect his attention. "Do you want to go for a walk, Yukine-kun? We can go play at the park."

As if she had said a magic word, Yukine immediately stopped crying. "Go pah'?" He mimicked her words, brows knitting confusedly.

"Yes! It's where you go to play and have fun. Would you like to go?" It wasn't as if she was really expecting an answer. "Let's get you dressed and we'll go, okay?" She walked him to the back of the apartment, sitting him down on the edge of Yato's bed as she turned to pick out an outfit.

Yukine watched her for a few seconds, before carefully sliding off the bed and walking on tiptoes towards the door.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Hiyori's question made him halt. He looked at her for only a second, before screaming and taking off down the hallway.

"Oh no you don't!" Hiyori gathered up the outfit she'd chosen and gave chase, following him back to the living room.

Yukine'd moved behind the coffee table and grinned at her, somehow feeling absolutely sure that Hiyori wouldn't be able to reach him. This assumption was soon thwarted, because the girl had easily reached across the table and grabbed him.

"Ah!" He squealed, starting to laugh as she picked him up.

"Okay, you little monster. No more running off!" She tickled him, provoking more giggles from the child as he squirmed in her hold. "I picked this outfit for you and I haven't even seen you in them yet! Now, hold still." She placed him down on the couch and pulled the overalls over his head, snapping them into place. Next she grabbed his feet, going about putting his socks and shoes on.

"Perfect! These definitely suit you, Yukine-kun." Hiyori appeared satisfied with her choice; but really, the boy looked adorable in anything, when she thought about it.

Yukine poked his tongue out at her, trying to squirm onto his side to reach a toy sitting on the other end of the couch. "Fuff!" Once he was able to grasp it, he tugged it closer and yawned.

"Aww, you're not tired, are you, Yukine-kun?" Hiyori held the child up, gently touching her nose to his.

Pulling back, Yukine shook his head. "No! No, no, no, no, no- no." He insisted, almost afraid that Hiyori would make him take another nap. "Go!" He was eager to get down, running over to the door and pointing up towards the knob. "Bye bye!" He added, hoping it would prove his point.

Hiyori couldn't contain her own laugh. "Well, in that case, I can't say no, can I?"

* * *

The park was a little crowded that afternoon, but Hiyori didn't mind. She'd placed Yukine in the sandbox and sat down, pulling out a book to read while keeping the occasional eye on her charge. While Yukine was young, he still had the tendency to run off if he got bored, so she had to be careful.

After a while of digging in the sand and flinging it into the air, Yukine wandered over to Hiyori and patted her knee. Pulling her book away, Hiyori turned her attention to look down at him. "Yes, Yukine-kun?"

"Wha' da'?" Yukine pointed over to the swing set, puffing his cheeks out.

"That's a swing. Would you like to try it?" Hiyori was already putting her book back into her purse when Yukine nodded. He was excited and curious, and had previously been captivated by the movement of the swings. Plucking the child up, Hiyori carried him over to the swing set and placed him in one of the empty seats. "Get ready for lift off!" She pulled the seat back and released, sending Yukine swinging forwards.

The inertia temporarily confused the boy and he flopped backwards against the seat, head dangling back to stare at Hiyori upside down. He soon adjusted himself, however, and squealed with glee. "'Aaaay!" He clapped, squirming in the seat. He very much liked the sensation, after getting over the initial shock.

"Whoa-be careful, okay? I thought you were going to fall out…" Hiyori didn't want to admit that she had panicked briefly when he'd flipped back. She pulled him back again, carefully this time as she watched him go forwards.

"Um-hm!" He nodded as if he knew exactly what he was talking about. "'Aaaay!"

"Yaaaay," Hiyori agreed, a little breathless, "Alright, we should be getting home in a few minutes...it's almost dinner time."

* * *

"Hiyori, I'm ho-,"

"Da-da!" Before Yato could even finish talking, a weight had plowed right into his legs. "Up!"

"Yukine?" Yato double-checked the clock, noting that it was almost eleven-thirty at night. "Hiyori, what is he still doing up? He's supposed to be asleep by eight…" Yato crouched, picking the child up.

Hiyori winced, giving him a guilty look. "He wouldn't go to sleep because you weren't in bed…" She admitted, walking over. "I even tried leaving him be, but he screamed and cried for well over an hour. I was going a little mad, so…" She averted his gaze, not knowing what else to say.

"Well...as long as he's alright. I'm not angry." He should have known that the first night wouldn't go too well.

"'Dah!" Following the exclamation, Yato was just able to see Yukine pull his hands from his eyes.

"What is he-?"

"Oh, you can't tell? He can do magic. He disappears when he puts his hands over his eyes. Show daddy, Yukine-kun." Hiyori pressed her finger to her lips, hoping that Yato would play along.

Nodding enthusiastically, Yukine once again placed his hands over his eyes.

"Wow! He completely vanished!" Yato spoke convincingly. "Where did he go? I was supposed to give him a hug, too…"

"'Dah!" Yukine pulled his hands away, laughing.

"Oh wow, that's really cool, Yukine! You'll have to teach me how to do that." Yato remained enthusiastic, despite the fact that he was tired. "Are you ready to go to sleep? Daddy's very sleepy, so…"

Yukine didn't put up that big of a fight, which Yato was eternally grateful for.

"Ah-Yato! I'm going to head home now, but I'll pick up a birthday present for Yukine-kun tomorrow. It's a bit of a necessity, so please accept it." She had come to her own conclusion about the child tonight, and she knew the solution. "Goodnight, Yukine-kun! Goodnight, Yato." She bowed, taking her leave.

"Wonder what it is…" Yato blinked sleepily, not being able to hold back a yawn. "Oh, well…" He'd ask her tomorrow. Carrying Yukine to the bedroom with him, he didn't think much past kicking off his shoes and sliding into bed.

Yukine seemed perfectly content to share the space, snuggling up close to Yato's side with a yawn of his own.


	4. Birthday Shock

**Author:** Wow, way to go, Fujisaki. You ruined the entire day! Uh, anyway-this chapter is a bit of a mess, but that's partially my fault for trying to edit my fic on five hours of sleep. I'll be updating/revising the chapter after I've had some rest, so no worries! (Though if you want to suggest something to be fixed, so let me know. Like, if any time skips are done awkwardly. Things like that.) Next chapter will probably focus on taking Yukine to the doctor, and after that, we're gonna skip some time! Should be fun. :D

Also, I decided to go with having Izanami be the mother? I didn't really want to stick her with the entire name though, since it is the name of a God. So I shortened it for the sake of human!mother Izanami.

 **Chapter 4: Birthday Shock**

"I feel so stupid doing this."

"You said that you wanted to bond with him, didn't you? Even if it's silly-just do it! He likes it." Hiyori seemed exasperated with Yato's hesitance to do the so called 'silly business' that one normally did with their child.

"Fine, but under no circumstances are we ever to recollect this, nor capture it in any way." This was a 'mommy' activity, in his opinion; but Yukine's party was tomorrow, and he'd personally asked Hiyori to help him in some bonding activities to do with the child.

"You remember what I showed you, right?" Hiyori crouched behind Yato, bracing her palms on her knees to make a face at Yukine. The child laughed in response, mimicking her facial expression by scrunching his nose.

"Of course I do! You just did it five minutes ago." Yato retorted, almost indignant. "Yukine, look at me. Can you show me where my eyes are?"

"Uh-huh!" Yukine responded eagerly, pushing himself to stand so that he could shove his hands over Yato's eyes. "Eye?" He questioned at Yato, waiting to see if he'd done it right.

"Yes, very good, Yukine. Okay, now where are my ears?" He was doing the sequence differently, just to make sure Yukine wasn't doing it from memory.

"Huh? Um…" Yukine hesitated, lips turning down in a pout uncertainly. He looked back over towards Hiyori, as if he wasn't sure what to do.

She knew it was cheating, but the girl gave him the hint anyway. She tapped her ear and smiled, and Yukine grinned back.

"Hey! You little cheater," Yato paused to shoot Hiyori a glare over his shoulder, before looking back to Yukine, "that's playing dirty. Okay wise guy, skip the ears. What about my nose? Where's my nose, Yukine?"

"No'?" Yukine reached up, shoving his fingers directly into Yato's nose.

"Ow! Hey, hey-okay, this was a bad idea. Let's just-," Yato took Yukine's wrist and removed his fingers, grabbing the box of baby wipes to clean them off. "Well, I feel violated now. Let's try something else."

"How about coloring?" Hiyori posed the idea, but Yato shook his head almost immediately.

"No. I tried having him do that last weekend, and he ended up either drawing on the walls or trying to eat the crayons. I still haven't gotten the marks off of my bedroom door."

Hiyori couldn't hide the wince she made. "Ahh...well, why not go to the library? Have you ever read to him before?"

Yato had to admit that he hadn't.

"Well, okay then. Get him dressed and I'll grab the wagon. Babies love to be read to, so it should be fun."

* * *

During the walk to the library, Yato and Hiyori ended up having a talk that Yato felt needed to be discussed.

"Hiyori, are you sure that you coming around so often is a good idea? Don't take it the wrong way, because I'm grateful for the help. But...I'm afraid that Yukine will become too attached." The issue had been on his mind lately, and had only increased in it's urgency when he noticed Yukine getting fussy whenever she left.

"I don't think it's that bad," Hiyori responded, clasping her hands behind her back, "he knows I'm not his mom. I'm sure he knows I don't live with you, too. Though, my parents are beginning to think we're dating."

Yato sputtered. "They what!?" He stopped where he was, the wagon hitting a bump in the sidewalk. "I-it's not like that, at all! We're friends, and you're just helping me with him-,"

"Relax, Yato! I know that. And I told them that." She pursed her lips and looked away, which was usually something she did when she was keeping silent about something. "It's my choice. I'm turning seventeen this summer, so they should get used to me making my own decisions."

"I'm more worried about what they think of _me_. I'm an adult, Hiyori. I know we're friends-hell, I've known you since you were in middle school-but don't you worry about what your _parents_ think we're doing?"

"Mm, I suppose you're right." Hiyori shrugged, not really bothered by the accusations. "In that case, Yukine-kun can come spend more time at my place! I can start babysitting from home, if it will make you feel better." She smiled again, trying to cheer her friend up.

"I'yo-tan!" Yukine yelled out at them suddenly, screaming to get their attention.

"Huh-yes, Yukine-kun?" Hiyori turned to smile at the boy, considering the talk to be over. Yato felt his insides drop somewhat, starting to pull the wagon again.

"Wha' dah'?" Pointing across the street at a cherry tree, he gave Hiyori an expectant look.

Hiyori followed his gaze, her features warming up a little. "That's a cherry tree! The leaves fell off 'cause it's cold. Can you say 'tree', Yukine-kun?"

"T'ee? Yeah." Yukine nodded his head, as if holding a conversation.

"Hey, is this right?" Yato stopped in front of a large building, giving a side glance to Hiyori. Upon seeing the girl nod, he turned to unbuckle the wagon's straps. "We're going to read books today, Yukine."

"Boo'?" Yukine's expression touched upon confusion, the way his brows knitted.

"You'll see." Yato pulled him out of the wagon and placed him on his feet, taking hold of his hand. "Hiyori, will you get the wagon for me? I'll meet you up there."

"Sure, Yato."

* * *

The library was perhaps the biggest place that Yukine had ever seen. Overtaken with curiosity, the child had run off the moment Yato put him down. Instead of getting onto him, Yato followed him quietly. Hiyori did as well, pulling the empty wagon behind her.

"Yukine, how about I pick out a book to read you?" They'd ended up in the children's section, which was good, in Yato's opinion-perhaps the pictures would keep him interested.

Instead of responding, Yukine darted over to one of the shelves and picked a green book up. "T'ee!" He exclaimed loudly, running back over to Yato and holding it up for him to see the cover.

"Yukine-kun, shh! We must be quiet in the library." Hiyori was quick to quell the child's volume, while Yato took the book to read the cover.

"The Giving Tree…? I think I had this book as a kid. It was a different language, though." He distinctly remember his mother reading it to him when he was a kid, but she had always translated the words as she read.

"It's a very popular book," Hiyori spoke, reaching down to pick Yukine up and sit down with him, "I think Yukine-kun would like it. Ah-good job on spotting the tree, Yukine-kun! I'm so proud of you for using a word you just learned." Hiyori turned her attention to the child, hugging him tightly after praising him.

"T'ee!" Yukine repeated excitedly, bouncing where he sat next to Hiyori.

"Alright…" Yato backed up to take a seat next to Hiyori, opening the book to the first page.

* * *

"Who knew Yukine-kun would be so interested in books! This will be a wonderful trait when he gets older." Hiyori hummed as she went about zipping up Yukine's coat, picking up a comb to straighten out his hair.

"No!" Yukine shook his head, pulling away and running over to Yato. He tugged on the hem of his shirt with a whine, fussing at the young man to 'save' him.

"Must have gotten that from his mother. Not much of a book person myself…" Yato murmured distractedly. "Yukine, she has to brush your hair so you can look nice for grandma and grandpa." He picked Yukine up, carrying him back over to Hiyori.

"Noooo!" Yukine yelled, flailing in some vain attempt to kick Yato.

"This is just gonna get worse over the next couple of years. What do they call it-'terrible two's?" Placing the child down next to Hiyori, Yato returned to the kitchen. "Shit. The cake kinda smells like it burned."

Opening the oven door confirmed Yato's suspicions, a thick billow of smoke immediately wafting into his face. "Argh! What am I going to do now?"

"You burned it?" Hiyori didn't sound angry, but concerned. "You followed my directions, didn't you?" Parting Yukine's hair wasn't easy-it was doing whatever it wanted. "Oh, never mind," She declared, setting the comb aside, "we'll just stop by the bakery and pick one up. It's no big deal."

"I'm short at least a thousand yen…" Yato tsk'ed and took the cake from the oven, setting it out on the counter. It was black and hard, and the sight of it made him want to sputter curses.

"I'll make up the difference." Hiyori responded, settling Yukine on her hip. "Come on, we have a couple of hours. If we get there early enough, we can have them put his name on it."

* * *

"Yato, you're an hour late for your own son's birthday party! Why, if you were going to be late I could have baked the cake myself!" Yato wasn't the least bit happy to see his mother at the door.

"Gee, it sure is nice to see you too, mom. I've been great, thank you for asking." Yato entered the house, not at all surprised that Yukine was hiding his face in his neck.

 _I'd be doing the same thing,_ Yato reflected bleakly. He absolutely despised having to meet up with his parents.

"Ah, Yukine, darling! Come here to grandma." Unsurprisingly, his mother blatantly ignored his remark and gathered the child into her arms. Yukine fussed in protest, reaching back out to Yato.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Iza. I'm so sorry we're late! The decorator messed up the spelling so it took half an hour to redo the icing." Hiyori attempted to mediate the growing tension, carefully moving to the kitchen to set the cake on the table.

"Oh my, really? Well then, not to worry, Hiyori dear! I'm sure you both did the best you could."

The woman's response brought out Yato's irritability. "Where's dad?" He forcefully diverted the conversation, barely giving Hiyori a glance as the girl left to go get her parents and the gifts they'd gotten.

"He's out back with Mizu-chan. He thought it would be a wonderful gesture to work on a handmade gift. Oh, and we invited the Ebisu's, as well! They're bringing little Daigo over as well, so Yukine will have a little play mate."

"Kofuku? Mom, her husband hates my guts. You know that." Yato groaned. Nevertheless, he disappeared to the kitchen to go out back.

"I doubt he'll start a fuss, Yato! He knows better." The woman sighed, turning her attention to the baby. "Well, Yukine, it smells like someone needs a diaper change. Shall we get that taken care of?" Cooing to the boy, she plucked up the diaper bag. Yukine was not interested in her words at all, fussing and squirming in her hold.

"Sekki-san!" A head of bubble-gum pink hair sprouted in from the front door.

"Hi! Come on in, Kofuku-chan. You brought Daigo, right?" Iza kept her tone neutral as she placed Yukine down to change him.

"Daikoku's got him," Kofuku responded with a giggle, "we actually asked Mayu-san if she wanted to tag along, but Kiyoko had karate lessons today. She wants to schedule a playdate, though! Ohh, is this Yuki?" Kofuku smiled as she crouched down, poking at the child's nose. "He sure is a cutie!"

"Isn't he? He's just precious! My son can make some beautiful babies, that's for sure." Iza smiled.

"Mah mah~ he certainly can! Daikoku, come here and see the baby!" Kofuku stopped talking so she could address her husband as he entered.

"Seen one rugrat, seen 'em all." Daikoku responded without a beat, turning Daigo loose.

The dark headed boy made a beeline for Yukine, just as soon as Iza set him down.

For a moment they simply stared at each other. Then Yukine reached out and grabbed the ring of Daigo's pacifier, pulling it out of his mouth. He shoved it into his own mouth, then smacked the other boy on the cheek.

Daigo looked confused for a moment, as if he wasn't sure what had just happened. He then teared up, reaching out to take the pacifier back.

"Nn!" Yukine backed up, shaking his head.

"Yukine, that's Daigo-kun's. That isn't yours to take!" Iza reprimanded the child, but Kofuku waved her hand.

"That's alright, Iza-san! He's too little to understand. And as you know, a mother always comes prepared." The pinked headed woman produced another pacifier from the bag on her shoulder, handing it down to her son. "Yatty probably hasn't even bothered buying him any. He can keep that one."

"Oh, you're probably right." Iza sighed, shaking her head. "Enough about that, though-how have you and Daikoku-san been?"

* * *

"Dad, what is this supposed to be?" Yato stepped outside, quietly closing the door behind himself. His father was working on something, although Yato wasn't entirely sure what it was.

"What's it look like? It's a toy box. I built one for you when you were a kid, so it shouldn't be that difficult to build another one." Fujisaki responded without looking up.

"You didn't have to," Yato groaned, "I have his toys in a bucket, so."

"A bucket? That's not ethical! Those things take up too much space. With a box, you can limit how many he has and how many fit in it. Mizu-chan, pass me the drill, won't you?"

"Yes, daddy." Mizuchi didn't pay an ounce of attention to Yato, picking up the power drill and leaning over to hand it to her father.

"Nora, you're fourteen, so stop calling him that. It's creepy." Yato's face scrunched up, but Mizuchi simply smiled at him.

"I can do as I please. After all, you don't even live here anymore, Yato. Also...call me that again. You wouldn't want to see what happens." It was rare to see Mizuchi frown, but he'd hit a nerve, he could tell.

"You were cuter when you used to like me." Yato growled.

"Stop it, you two," Fujisaki spoke over them, securing the screws into the wooden frame, "Yato, you have no room to talk down to her. She's doing better than you ever did. At least I can count on my baby girl to get her life together when the time comes."

"You never had any faith in me to begin with, dad." Yato spoke dryly. "You treated me like a family secret from day one."

"Now that's bullshit. I gave you the same opportunities as I gave Mizuchi, little man." Fujisaki stood, moving to deposit the drill into his toolbox.

"Whatever!" Yato knew it wasn't true. "You're a liar. Just admit it, you've always hated me! I don't know why I tried so damn hard to impress you."

 _There's a reason we don't talk much anymore._

"Fine! You want to know why?" Fujisaki crossed the deck, nose to nose with Yato.

"Fuck yeah, I do! Go ahead, dad, tell me." Yato was challenging him, and he knew very well that it was dangerous. But he didn't care. Every time he visited, his dad had to start shit.

"..." Fujisaki faltered, then sighed. "Not today, boy. I went through the trouble of doing something special for your kid, the most you can do is agree to disagree today."

"You say that like you weren't the one who started it." Yato bit out, before turning to go inside again. He didn't give a shit what his dad did, nothing was going to make up for the lifetime of his father constantly reminding him of what a screw up he was.

* * *

"I'yo, I'yo-tan!" Yukine'd made a beeline straight for Hiyori as soon as she was in the door, whining and fussing for her to pick him up.

"Hi there, Yukine-kun!" Hiyori greeted the boy and gathered him up, moving further into the living room to allow her parents to come in.

"Hey there, you three! We were just discussing Daigo's doctor visit last week," Kofuku waved to the girl and her parents, "the pediatrician had to give him his booster shots, and he ended up crying for well over an hour! I almost couldn't get him down for his nap later that day. Yato, have you taken Yukine-kun to see the doctor yet?"

"Ah...no. I think he's up to date with his shots, though." It'd only been a couple months-surely, the boy's mother had gotten them taken care of.

"I'd still take him for a wellness check either way." Kofuku gave Yato a determined glance, which made the young man particularly nervous.

"I don't even know who I'd take him to…"

"Masaomi-kun works in one of the pediatric centers downtown, Yato," Sayuri spoke up as she went about removing her shoes, "you could take him up there."

"What did I tell you? Iza, your son doesn't even know to take his kid to the doctor." Fujisaki came into the front room, taking a seat at the kotatsu.

"That's a lie! Of course I know to take him! I just figured, you know, he isn't sick. So-,"

"It's what Kofuku-san said." Fujisaki responded. "A wellness check up. I woulda done that right off the bat."

"Well, I'm not you, am I dad?" Yato'd about had enough.

"No, and y'know what else? You're-,"

"Alright, present time!" Iza saw exactly where the conversation was headed and spoke up. "Honey, please help me carry them out here." She used a tone that Yato distinctly recognized as meaning, 'we need to talk'.

"Iza, he's old enough now. I've held my tongue for your sake, but it isn't gonna work, now! If he can't be respectful to me, I'm not gonna waste my time keeping this game up anymore!" Fujisaki turned his attention to Yato, who was now scowling at him.

"Yato, you're-,"

"Fujisaki, don't you dare!"

"Yato, you're not even my kid!"


	5. Time For Change

**Author's Note:** Next chapter will be a time skip! :D Kicking it up a notch and preparing for a final chapter. This is a direct continuation of the last chapter, so it's easy to keep up with, I think.

 **Chapter 5: Time For Change**

A tense silence settled over the entire household.

"Wha'...you serious? Mom, what is he going on about?" Out of all the things Yato could have expected, this wasn't it.

Iza was quiet, hands folded in front of her. "Yato, we...I messed up. I should have told you a long time ago."

"Pah, got that right." Fujisaki grumbled, running a hand through his hair. "I'm damn tired of keepin' this charade up-and it's time to end it, don't you think?"

"Um...what exactly do you mean when you say that Yato isn't your child?" Hiyori was the first to speak through her own shock. "You raised him, didn't you?"

"Well, yes dear. He did. But he isn't Yato's biological father." Iza sighed. "I married Fujisaki when Yato was around two, so of course he wouldn't remember. But we made the decision to not mention it to him."

"No, you did." Fujisaki scowled. "I admit, I agreed with you at the time. But how was I supposed to know he'd turn into such a fuck up?"

"That's bullshit," Yato snapped, hands balling into fists, "you don't stop loving your kid just because they don't fit into your idea of who they should be. If you do, then you've failed as a parent."

"I just said that I wasn't your parent." Fujisaki countered.

"Yes you are! I don't give a shit whether your my biological dad or not, you raised me. You did a shitty job, but you still did it. You don't have the right to denounce your parental rights at this point." Yato was quick to respond; it made sense, if he thought about it. No, he never went without, or anything. In fact, both of his parents had provided him with everything he needed and wanted.

But, Fujisajki and him hadn't gotten along from day one, it felt like.

"I never adopted you. I-,"

"Fujisaki-san," Daikoku spoke up, "look...if Kofuku had had another kid before marrying me, I woulda still raised that kid as mine. You provided for that sack of shit. You made the decision, and he's right. You can't shirk off your responsibility for him just 'cause you don't like him."

"I think that's the first time you've ever stuck up for me, Daikoku-san." Yato took notice, but Daikoku merely turned his nose up.

"Y, yeah, well-don't get used to it! I just can't bear to think a father would disown a kid he raised because of somethin' like that." As hard as the man talked, Yato knew how he truly felt.

"I fully believe that Yato's changed, as well." Hiyori added. "Ever since Yukine-kun came into his life, he's been trying his hardest to be a good father. He's kept a job for a two weeks now, just so he can provide for him. You don't see the way his eyes light up when Yukine-kun talks to him, or how gentle Yato is even when he throws a tantrum. He's doing the best he can, and I think you should at least acknowledge that, Fujisaki-san!"

"Hiyori…" Yato didn't know what to say. Sure, he knew he'd been a failure, but he really was doing his best to change. And not just for his own sake, but Yukine, as well.

"Fujisaki, apologize to Yato right now." Iza prompted her husband, who sighed exasperatedly.

"Fine! Yato, I'm sorry. For doing this here and now, at the very least. I lost my temper. We can discuss this later, after the party." Fujisaki was annoyed, but there was visible regret on his face.

"Just drop it, dad. Nothing needs to be discussed." Yato resolved it then and there, before reaching over to grab the first gift. "Yukine, Daigo-kun, get over here." He called the children over, and Yukine responded by tripping over a pile of blocks that Daigo had been stacking up.

"Hey!" Daigo fussed angrily, but Yukine just whined in response.

"Shit." Yato got up from his seat, going over to pick Yukine up. "Did you get hurt?" He carefully checked over him, not finding any immediate scratches-though his forehead was a bit red from the impact. "Be a little more careful, okay?"

Yukine nodded tearfully, sniffling as Yato carried him back over to where everyone else was sitting.

"Daigo, come sit with daddy." Daikoku called the other child over, pulling him closer to sit between him and Kofuku.

"Alright, let's open these. The first one's from Hiyori." Yato handed Yukine a small package, and the child picked it up to look at it.

"I think you have to open it for him." Hiyori laughed behind her hand, and Yato turned bright red in response.

"I knew that." He responded huffily, tearing away the wrapping to reveal a package of glow-in-the-dark stars and a night light. "What's this for?" He held up the night light specifically, turning it over to read the back of it.

"Yukine-kun doesn't like the dark." Hiyori explained. "I thought it'd be easier to get him to sleep early when you're at work."

"Oh, that makes sense. Thank you, Hiyori." Yato set the packages aside, flashing the girl a smile.

"Okay, next is…"

* * *

Overall, Yukine had received a couple of toys and more clothes than Yato knew what to do with. In the end, he'd accepted the toy box from his father-and now, he was glad he did.

"This actually takes up much less room," Yato spoke to no one in particular, once he'd gotten back home with Yukine, "guess dad was right, after all…"

He'd refused to talk about the issue himself, but that didn't stop it from bothering him. "Well, whatever. I'm still your dad-and I'll do an even better job than my old man ever did." He picked Yukine up, carrying him back to the bedroom.

"Look at the stars, Yukine. Hiyori did a good job, huh?" Yato placed the child in the crib, resting his arms against the railing.

Yukine peered up at the plastic arrangements, blinking curiously. "Stah?" He questioned, pointing upwards.

"Yeah. And, speaking of Hiyori…" Yato trailed off, aqua colored hues looking up towards the stars himself.

"Probably should call her brother about seeing you for an appointment."

* * *

Yato felt as if he'd fall asleep, trying to keep an eye on Yukine. He was currently sitting in the waiting room of the pediatrics clinic that Masaomi worked at, idly listening for the kid's name being called. At times like this, he really wished that Hiyori was out of school. "Since when did I decide to let her become this involved? Now I'm just getting nervous about doing doctor appointments without her."

Hadn't they just had a discussion about her being too involved? Flicking his gaze over towards Yukine, his mind wandered a little. Why exactly was he feeling guilty? Hiyori was just a teenager-she wasn't ready to be a mother as it was.

"Dada,"

Yato shook his head, looking down to watch Yukine climb into his lap. "What is it?" The child was acting in a frightened manner, something usually reserved for when he was scared.

"No," Yukine pointed up to the TV, which happened to be streaming a program on the importance of vaccinations.

"Oh, shots? Don't worry, Yukine. I think your mom already had yours done. This is just to make sure you're healthy. No needles, I promise."

* * *

He should have chosen his words more carefully.

"He hasn't had any of his vaccinations, it looks like. I even requested his prior medical records from the hospital listed on his certificate." Masaomi read off of the chart he held, taking notice of the pallor that suddenly came upon Yato's features.

"You're kidding." He responded. "She hasn't had any of them administered? Why?" The question was obviously not aimed at the doctor.

"It's hard to say, really." Masaomi sighed. "Some parents prefer to opt out of it. They believe that vaccinations can be harmful. I assure you, Mr. Sekki, they're not."

"You can call me Yato, Masaomi. We went to highschool together. But no, I believe you, it's just-I told him he wouldn't have to have any shots. I just automatically assumed that this wouldn't be a problem."

"You were a freshman when I was graduating." Masaomi responded. "And...well," he sat the clipboard down, rubbing at his chin, "it's not my place to tell you what to do. He's your child, after all. But in my opinion? Getting them over and done with now will make things a lot easier. He'll move on from it in a few hours, tops."

"I feel really awful about it, but...yeah. Yeah, go ahead."

* * *

"I heard from Masaomi that Yukine got his shots today." Hiyori entered the apartment, carrying a bag with her. "Did he cry?"

"Oh my god. He screamed so loud-I'm sure the buildings three blocks over heard him. He still won't even look at me. They must have stuck him at least five times." Yato visibly regretted the whole thing, but Hiyori's soft smile made it all a little less painful.

"Yukine-kun, I have something for you." Hiyori moved to the kitchen, not at all surprised when Yukine got up to follow her. "Do you like ice cream?"

"Keem!" The child shouted, forgetting all about the ordeal upon the mention of ice cream.

"Yup! It's vanilla-wasn't sure if he'd do well with chocolate. Um! I got us some, too." She placed the little bag on the table, scooping Yukine up carefully to put him in his chair.

"Wow, Yukine-kun! I like your bandaids. They're so cool." She set the bowl of soft serve in front of him, handing him the spoon. "How do you feel?"

Yukine was quiet for a moment, in favor of taking a bite of the ice cream. "It ow." He responded finally, patting the ice cream with his spoon.

"Aww. I'm sorry, Yukine-kun." Hiyori leaned over, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "It'll feel better after you eat your ice cream, though! Ice cream makes everything better."

"'Kay." Yukine nodded, starting to mix up his ice cream.

"I feel crushed, Hiyori." Yato whined from the couch. "He's never gonna forgive me. I've already made promises that I can't keep."

This was just the beginning to a steep, slippery slope, wasn't it?

"Oh, nonsense. Yukine loves you. He's just a little upset right now." Getting up from her seat, Hiyori left Yukine to eat his ice cream and carried over the other two containers. "Cheer up, okay? You did what's best for him, even if it hurt the both of you. That's just part of being a parent." She smiled, handing one of the ice cream containers to Yato. "I got your favorite."

"Thank you, Hiyori. I dunno what I'd do without you."

"It's not a problem, Yato." Hiyori took the lid off of her ice cream, taking a bite. "My mom told me, 'it takes a village to raise a child'. I think she was onto something." She was happy to be able to help Yato, at the very least.

"It's just so hard to have faith in my parenting skills when everyone is thinking the opposite, y'know? I talk like I'm confident, but honestly? I'm terrified. I never even considered myself to be a kid person in the first place, and suddenly I have one that's...my entire world, basically. It all changed, but not in a bad way. If this is how I'm gonna get my life together, then I don't mind it. I just hope it does as much for him as it's doing for me."

"Well...you remember, the first week that Yukine-kun was here, he wouldn't stop crying for his mom. It was hard on him, too." Hiyori's smile was gone, but she covered it up with another bite of her ice cream. "But, you helped him get through it. Even if it means breaking a few promises, you seem to know where to draw the line between being a friend and his parent. And that's exactly what he needs. You're doing a good job, Yato."

"You think...hah, you're so smart, Hiyori. Has anyone told you that? You seem to know more than I do, sometimes." Yato couldn't help but laugh at the statement uttered. "You'll make a good mother someday. You're a natural at it."

"That won't be for a long time, though." Hiyori nodded. "I'm going to follow the family tradition and get into Med school-surprise, surprise. I just have to graduate, first." She was a bit nervous, but delighted that her words brought a smile to Yato's features.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine, Hiyori."


	6. Awkward Beginnings

**Chapter 6: Awkward Beginnings**

"It looks absolutely amazing, Yato."

It was hard to believe how far this whole thing had come, when Hiyori stopped to think about it.

Two years had passed, since she'd gotten that panicked call from Yato asking her for help. How many days had she gone to his apartment to babysit Yukine? Even today, she'd dropped by Yato's new house so she could.

"It took such a long time; I've been coming over on my days off to paint Yukine's room and the bathroom; I think Yukine will like having his own room, though. He's been complaining about having to sleep with me ever since he outgrew his crib." Yato laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, he told me he wasn't happy because you talk in your sleep and move around a lot." Hiyori giggled to herself, taking a look around. "Where is Yukine-kun, anyway? I haven't seen him since I got here."

"He said that?" Yato blushed, feeling rather embarrassed that Hiyori had learned his sleeping patterns through his son. "I don't do it that much. Anyway, he's in the backyard. It's fenced in and I can see him from the window, so I thought it'd be alright to leave him alone while I answered the door. You can come on out back." Yato stepped ahead through the laundry room, sliding the back door open. "Yukine! Hiyori's here!" He called out to the child, and a head of blond hair popped out from around the corner of the house.

"Hiyori-tan! I gotta frog, lookit!" Scrambling over to the girl, Yukine held up his find proudly. "In't he neat!?"

"E-egh...that's a toad, Yukine-kun," Hiyori tried to hide her grimace, "a very nice one, though-you did well! Oh goodness-you're covered in dirt…why don't you put him back home, and I'll help you clean off, alright?" She patted the boy's head, looking back to Yato as the child ran off to do as he was told. "So, Yato...you're taking off to come to my graduation tomorrow, right? The ceremony won't take too long...I was thinking you could come to the party afterwards, too. It's gonna be outside on the field next to the park-they'll have a free buffet."

"Can't say no to free food." Yato grinned. "Nah. Of course I'll come, Hiyori. I've waited for this event to roll around for a while now. I suppose we can go to the park and let the kid play through the later half, too. If you're okay with that, I mean."

"Of course I am. The event as it is will probably be boring for Yukine-kun, so we can head there after I receive my diploma." Hiyori smiled, crossing her arms behind her back.

Yato returned the smile, standing a bit awkwardly. "There's also something I need to ask you, so-," he paused as he took notice of the time, "shit. I gotta run. Yukine, come here." He motioned the boy over as the child returned, crouching down to give him a hug. "Gotta go to work, now. Mind Hiyori, alright? Maybe you can help her put your stars up before you go to bed tonight."

Yukine stood on tiptoes, returning the hug. "I will. Bye, daddy. Oh-Hiyori-tan! My room! See my room!" He moved on to the girl, pulling on her hand.

"Not just yet, Yukine-kun," Hiyori instead picked him up, carrying him back towards the kitchen, "we have to get you cleaned off, first." Setting him down on the counter, she rubbed some of the dirt from his nose.

"I fine bein' dirty!" He protested, trying to wriggle off the counter.

"Ah, no-! Be careful, if you drop down from here, you'll get hurt. Now, hold still. It'll only take a minute." Hiyori ran a cloth under the faucet, using it to wipe the dirt off once it was wet enough.

"Fiiiine," Yukine sighed, pouting as she cleaned off his hands. He really didn't mind it, but she seemed adamant about getting the dirt off.

"Didn't your daddy say something about stars?" Hiyori asked upon getting all the dirt cleaned off, helping Yukine down from the counter.

"Yeah! My room!" The child ran ahead, barreling through the house faster than Hiyori could keep up with. Thankfully, there were only so many rooms she had to check before coming upon Yukine's.

"Ohh, this is really nice, Yukine-kun! I love the color that Yato painted it." It was a light green color-probably done by the child's request.

"Mhm! I got, um," Yukine walked over to the toy box in the corner, lifting up the lid, "I find this!" Pulling out a plush ball, he carried it over to Hiyori.

"Ahh, this…" Hiyori crouched down to take it, brushing her fingers over the threaded eyes and mouth. "This is yours, Yukine-kun. It's Fluff, remember? Where did you find it?"

Yukine gained a look of confusion, scratching his head. "Mine? No. Find it un'ner couch. In'na old house."

"No no, from your mama. She gave this to you when you came to live with daddy." Hiyori explained, though she felt she probably shouldn't have said it judging by the confusion still on the child's face.

"Uh…" Hiyori faltered, unsure of what to say.

"Well, anyway," Yukine went on, dismissing the topic smartly, "I like this Fluff, so he go here." He toted it back to the toy box, placing it on top of it. "Can we go park today?" He'd moved onto something else already, and Hiyori pursed her lips.

"We're going to the park tomorrow, so we can do something else today. How about we go out for dinner? I heard you got some new clothes from Grandma last weekend, and I'd love to see them on you."

"Okay! I be pretty, just for you." Yukine responded, before going over to his closet and tugging it open.

Hiyori followed, going through the different outfits that Yato had paired up. "What about this, Yukine-kun?" She pulled a green shirt out, that had been overlapped by a pair of overalls with a turtle on the front. "This is one of your new ones, right?"

"Mhm! He green." He said, pointing to the turtle on the pocket.

"Yes, he is! Come on, we have to put these clean clothes on so we can go."

* * *

Having a car of her own now, Hiyori had been free to drive Yukine places-even when Yato couldn't. This came in handy; especially with how often Yato's car broke down. "Yukine-kun, we're here." Hiyori parked the car, going around to let Yukine out of the back seat.

"We here!" Yukine affirmed as he climbed out, peering up at the building. "What it say?" He pointed to the awning, where the cafe's name was displayed.

"This is the Olive House. Me and your daddy used to come here and eat after school a lot, when I was in middle school." Hiyori smiled, recalling the fond memories as she reached down to take Yukine's hand. She entered the small restaurant with him, lifting him up to sit him in one of the booster seats at the counter. "Have a look at the menu and tell me if there's anything you want. They have pictures right here." Hiyori pointed out the children's section, while speaking to the server to get their drinks.

"Omurice!" Yukine spoke up from next to her after only a few seconds. "Want Omurice!" He pointed to the picture, looking from Hiyori to the server.

"Ahh, that's a good choice!" The server didn't seem to mind the child's interjection in the least, and even laughed. "The cook here makes very yummy Omurice! What would you like to drink with that, hon?"

"Grape, please!" Yukine was enthusiastic about the response, swinging his feet back and forth under the counter.

"Ahh, good manners, Yukine-kun...but it's not nice to interrupt people when they're having a conversation, alright? Just make sure you remember next time." Hiyori reached over to pat his head, taking notice that her reprimand brought a pout to the child's face.

"Oh...sorry." He apologized, resting his arms on the countertop and laying his head down. "Are you mad?"

"No, I'm not mad." Hiyori smiled, just to reassure him. "You wanted grape juice, then?"

"Yes please!" Yukine smiled, forgetting about the whole thing as he bounced in his seat. "Yummy omurice, omurice, o-mu-rice!"

"Alright, calm down." Hiyori giggled, enjoying the child's excitable antics.

"Your mama's raised such a good boy. So polite!" The server placed their drinks down in front of them, praising Yukine's use of manners.

"A-ah, I'm not…" Hiyori started speaking, but trailed off. Of course she knew it would be better to correct it-but she wasn't as bothered by the assumption as she should have been.

"Thank you!" Yukine reciprocated the compliment, before turning to smile at Hiyori. "So you're mama, Hiyori-tan?"

"I…" Hiyori didn't know what to say. "Well, no, Yukine-kun. A mama is someone who loves you and takes care of you."

"So you no love me?" The question came out blunt, but not accusatory.

"Oh-it isn't like that! I do. I love you very much, Yukine-kun." That wasn't a good explanation, after all. "I'll-I'll explain it better when you're older, okay?" When he could comprehend what relationships meant. She knew that any attempt now would result in confusion for the child.

* * *

"What this place?"

Yukine's question nearly went unanswered by Yato. The young man was looking around, reminiscing the school's layout as if he'd been there yesterday.

 _Has it really been that long ago that I walked these halls?_

It'd been six years, he realized. A few things were different, but overall, he'd found the gymnasium no problem.

"Daddy!" Yukine shouted to get his attention, a glaring pout already in place. "Where we are?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Yukine." Yato looked down at the child, letting go of his hand to settle it atop his head. "We're at the high school. Hiyori is gonna graduate today."

"Wha's...gad-you..." Yukine puffed his cheeks out, frustration rising from not being able to pronounce the word.

"It's where they give you a piece of paper saying you don't have to come to school anymore." Yato explained it as simply as possible, before walking through the entrance to the gymnasium. "We're gonna go sit on those long bench things." He helped Yukine step onto the first one, letting him go to pick a seat.

"So Hiyori-tan can come live with us after!" Yukine exclaimed, though Yato quickly hushed him.

"D-don't say that so loudly, okay? I haven't...I haven't asked her yet. So don't ruin the surprise, okay?"

"What surprise, Yato?" Hiyori sat down next to them, leaning over to wave at Yukine.

"H-Hiyori! What surprise? I didn't say anything about that." Yato tried to escape the topic by expertly raising an unrelated question. "Is it okay for you to be sitting here with us? Aren't you supposed to be sitting somewhere else?"

"Well, my mom is only staying until the end of the ceremony, and it'd be boring to sit out there. She's only two rows behind us. My dad tried to make it, but there was an emergency at the hospital." Hiyori smiled sadly, but she understood.

"I'm sorry, Hiyori." Yato offered what little comfort he knew to give. "I can take some pictures with my phone, so he has something. I-if you don't mind, that is."

"Of course I don't. I think he'd be delighted." Hiyori's smile brightened. "I'll stay here until they call me down. But after that, we'll be heading over to the park. Not before getting food from the party, of course."

"Uh, actually-I want you to meet me out front first. There's…" He trailed off, feeling as if his heart would burst out of his ribcage, "th-there's actually something I've been wanting to talk to you about, but I haven't been able to find the time." Yato could feel his palms begin to sweat; hopefully, he didn't sound too nervous.

Hiyori's expression shifted into a look of concern, but she nodded. "Alright. Are you sure you want to wait until after-,"

"Yes! Um, i-it's not that important, it'd just be better to save it for after." Yato swallowed.

"Well, okay…" Hiyori was suspicious now, but she agreed nonetheless.

"Daddy, I gotta go potty." Yukine tugged on Yato's sleeve, and the raven unleashed a breath he hadn't been aware that he was holding.

"Alright, Yukine. Sorry, Hiyori. We'll be back."

* * *

The ceremony had been long and boring, just as Yato had expected it to be.

Also expectedly, Yukine had fallen asleep halfway through.

"Yukine, wake up. We gotta go meet up with Hiyori." Yato gently shook the child awake, but Yukine just whined and snuggled closer against his arm. Rolling his eyes, Yato carefully picked the child up and left the gymnasium.

"Yato, over here." Hiyori came running up, already having changed out of her gown. "Here, I'll take him."

Yato willingly handed the child over, and together they walked towards the exit.

"So what was it that you needed to talk about?" Leaving the building, Hiyori stopped just short of Yato.

"Well, I-I've been thinking," Yato propped himself back up against the school's wall, "you're really great with Yukine. You've stepped in to help me so many times, especially when I had no idea what I was doing. You're really something, and...I can't really see this family being complete without you. So..."

Yato pulled a small box out of his pocket. "Here, I have-shit." The box clumsily fell out of his hands, and his face had gone just as red as Hiyori's had turned. Bending down on one knee, he carefully picked the box back up. "A-as I was saying," he dared to look up, "I want you to be there with us. For him-even if you wouldn't do it for me, he really-,"

"Yato," despite the warm pulse in her cheeks, Hiyori extended a hand to him, "come on, stand up." She helped him to his feet, shifting Yukine to rest in her other arm. "That wasn't exactly the romantic event that I imagined."

She didn't appear upset, but Yato felt a cold shiver of dread latch onto him anyway.

"But, to be honest...I couldn't see myself anywhere else. When I'm with you and Yukine, I feel like I'm home. I guess what I'm saying is...the answer is yes." She'd accepted before Yato could even properly ask.

"Oh...Hiyori," Yato could feel his own pulse quicken, "thank you. This means a lot to me, you have no idea. I..." He stepped forwards, wrapping his arms around her. The ring was all but forgotten in that moment, but another voice spoke up that distracted them both from the current moment.

"Squishin' me!" Yukine had woken up from between the embrace, wiggling up to push the two of them apart.

"Ah-sorry, Yukine." Yato stepped back, face as red as a tomato.

Hiyori was blushing as well, which brought a questioning glance to the child she held. "Well, uh-Yato, we can continue this conversation after Yukine's put to bed tonight!"

* * *

Yukine had immediately run off to play, when they'd stopped at the park.

"He has so much energy." Hiyori smiled from her seat on the bench, watching Yukine as he attempted to cross the monkey bars. "Have you thought about getting him enrolled in a preschool yet?"

Yato was still fiddling with the box in his lap, in deep contemplation to the point that he didn't really hear the question until almost a minute later. "Huh? Oh...nah. I was thinking of just entering him into Kindergarten when the time comes. I feel like I can teach him more in the time to come than a head-start program could."

"Well, he's already starting to be able to read. He's going to be very smart." Hiyori smiled, and the two of them sat in an almost awkward silence.

"Ah! I'll be back, Yato. I have to go freshen up." Hiyori stood, picking up her bag. "Keep an eye on Yukine, will you?"

"Of course." Yato smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. As the girl left, azure hues dropped back to look at the box again. "This didn't really go how I expected it to."

Maybe it had been the wrong moment? When exactly _was_ the right time?

He lifted his gaze to watch Yukine, making sure he was still within eyesight. The child was standing in the middle of a bridge connecting one part to other other, holding onto the ropes as he jumped up and down on it.

The sound of footsteps crossing the gravel path drew Yato's attention to look next to him, and up to a young woman that stopped next to where he was sitting. "You're Yato, right?" The woman adjusted her purse, following a nod from Yato.

"I am. Is there something I can help you with?" He could see the regret knit tightly into her features, and immediately a feeling of dread welled up inside of him. She looked familiar, but he couldn't quite remember where it was he had seen her.

"I've been wanting to contact you," the woman bit her lip, not taking her eyes off of Yato for even a moment, "but I...I didn't know how. I know I should have done this so very long ago, and I'm sorry-,"

"Calm down. I can tell you're upset, but you obviously seem to know me. Can I get your name?" Perhaps if she told him that, he could go from there. It wasn't exactly like he had an extensive history when it came to women. The woman hesitated, eyes turning downcast as she spoke.

"I'm...I'm Yukine's mother."

* * *

 **Author:** Dun dun duuuunnn...okay, so you probably all saw that coming. But! I've honestly been trying to get this out for days, and it's just been a little difficult to do so. But today is Eerna's birthday, AKA the person who inspired this entire fic. So, what better day than today to update? (Due to time zones this might actually be uploaded after her birthday ends...it's only 9 PM for me!) Anyway, there are probably only one or two more chapters left to this fic! I'm also considering a far angstier sequel, but I can't reveal anything about the idea until this fic is completed.


	7. Complications

**Chapter Seven: Complications**

* * *

Yato didn't have a clue why the statement suddenly brought him fear.

That was, until the unbidden question left his mouth.

"Are you here to take him away from me?"

The inquiry was met with a firm shake of the head. "I-no. I mean, it depends on what you decide," she grabbed her wrist, rubbing at the skin and purposefully avoiding Yato's gaze, "can we talk somewhere else? I don't want him seeing me."

It was obvious that she meant Yukine.

"If there is even a small chance he'd notice me, I won't be able to do this. I-it's for the best, for _him_...you were with a girl just now, weren't you? Maybe she can look after him while we talk."

Hiyori had just returned to hear the conversation. "Yato? Who is this?" She had never seen the girl before, but it was obvious that she was foreign.

Yato didn't immediately respond, almost as if he were considering his options. "I'll tell you later, after I fully understand what's going on. Do you think you can watch Yukine for a bit?" He didn't leave much time for Hiyori to answer before he was on his feet, walking towards the entrance of the park and motioning for the woman to follow.

* * *

"I don't remember meeting you." Yato's previous assumption of who Yukine's mother had been was wrong; the young lady in front of him had not been the same girl he'd met before.

So who exactly _was_ she?

"No, we have-," the girl rubbed the back of her neck, incredibly nervous by the whole situation, "My name is Liliana. There was an art convention you attended a few years ago, with a brown-headed man who was wearing glasses, I think?" She tried to explain, not sure if she was remembering right.

"Ah…" Recognition dawned upon Yato's features. "You were the girl who caused all that commotion in the conference hall. I punched your guy friend for hitting you, right?"

"He was my boyfriend, and I was pregnant. You pulled him off of me and helped me to the infirmary, yes." The more information she gave, the more Yato realized exactly where this was headed.

"We met when you were pregnant?" Yato's brows furrowed. "No, wait. That has to mean-,"

"You're not Yukine's father..." Liliana confirmed his thoughts. "You were very kind to me during that time, and I really appreciated it. But, Yukine... you remember the note I left you, right? I said that my boyfriend...y'know."

Yato remembered. He'd specifically kept the details from Hiyori, but he remembered. "So, the boyfriend that hurt Yukine was his real father." He stated it as a fact, and Liliana lowered her head. Yato felt angry, but he wasn't sure of the specific reason. For being lied to? For what had happened to Yukine?

"He really did hurt him." Liliana went on. "But, I had to leave Japan and go back home. My husband didn't know about any of this...I couldn't bring myself to tell him." She shook her head. "And Yukine would have been hurt even more if I had left him with that man. I got out, but-,"

"So let me get this straight, yeah?" Yato interrupted her, "you came here to Japan and ended up having an affair on your husband, you got pregnant, and you couldn't own up to your own mistake after deciding to keep the baby? Then, this whackjob ends up not being the guy you thought he was, so you decide to go back to wherever you came from when the kid is ten months old, right? You just decided to drop him on _my_ door step and completely abandoned him because you didn't want your husband to know?"

Liliana nodded, the movement barely visible. "I couldn't have just left him with his father! He was too violent, and I couldn't trust him after he did that to my baby. I was _ashamed,_ Yato. If I had gone back home with him, my husband would have known it wasn't his, and he would have left me."

"He should have! It was your job as Yukine's _mother_ to look out for him and you cared more about your _relationship with your husband_ than your own ba-wait, how the _fuck_ did you even get my address?" Yato was livid; maybe it hadn't been his business before, but it sure as hell was, now.

"The art convention's manager passed it along when I asked about your work and how to contact you." The woman was ashamed, knowing that there had been a chance that this would happen. "I've been living with the guilt that I dropped this child on you when it wasn't even yours to begin with. Yato, I'm sor-."

"Don't even try to apologize for that. Secondly, he's not an 'it'. No, maybe you _shouldn't_ have made it a complete stranger's problem. You know, Yukine _knew_ you were gone, and he cried for you to come back for _days_. But hell, you weren't even in the same _country_ by that point, were you? And you have the nerve to show up after all this time just because you felt _guilty?"_ It was laughable.

 _Good,_ Yato thought bitterly, _you_ ** _deserve_** _to feel guilty._

"I think we're done here. I don't accept your apology if you think it was justified to keep your marriage safe before putting the wellbeing of your own kid first. You didn't know anything about me other than the fact that I seemed 'nice'. Well, you want to know the truth? I hated kids. I couldn't stand them."

That had been true, once upon a time.

"But then I'm left with this kid who I fully believe to be mine. I'm not the kind of person to back out just because I don't like it...unlike you." Yato paused, yet there was no hesitation in what he said next.

"You gave up your parental rights the morning you left him on _my_ doorstep, as far as I'm concerned." Maybe it was a bit harsh, but in the moment, Yato couldn't stand to look at the woman. Instead, he walked away from her, back over to where Hiyori was sitting and dropped heavily to sit down next to her.

Hiyori immediately noticed the pain on Yato's face. "Yato, what's wrong? Who was that woman?" She looked back, only to see that the lady had already fled.

"Yukine's mother." Yato's tone was distant. "Yukine...isn't my kid."

The statement was met with a look of shock, but still Hiyori pressed on. "What do you mean, 'he isn't yours'?"

Yato explained everything that he and Liliana had talked about. "She had no idea what my life was like. If not for the help from you and Masaomi, I wouldn't have even been able to handle the situation. It hurts, Hiyori. It hurts so _badly_. I've grown so _attached_ to him, and now to learn that I'm not even his biological dad-I don't know what to do."

He'd always told himself that he'd do a better job than his dad did for him. In fact, he'd promised Yukine. But now, knowing that he didn't even have any legal obligation to take care of him-.

"You still love him, don't you?" Hiyori was calm, getting straight to the point of the matter.

"Of course I do, why wouldn't I?" Yato turned to look at Hiyori, as if she'd just come out with nonsense. "My feelings for him won't change, even though I know the truth now. I've sacrificed so much for him already-I can't live without him."

"Then you should adopt him. You need to catch back up with his mom, and...as much as you don't want to, you should apologize. I know it was insensitive of her, but maybe she was just trying to protect him. Mothers do what they think is best, even if it's in their own way. But you two can talk it out. She'll have to authorize the adoption, and..."

"Shit...no, you're right, Hiyori. I'll go-uh, can you get him home and put to bed?" Yato was anxious to catch up with the woman, now; she couldn't have gotten far.

"Of course, Yato. Go ahead."

* * *

"Hiyori-tan, where daddy go? I tired..." Yukine'd wandered up to Hiyori and rested his head on her lap, looking over towards the entrance of the park.

"Oh, Yukine-kun." Hiyori reached down to stroke his head, before picking him up. "He went to talk to a friend. He told me to take you home...would you like me to spend the night?" She stood up with the child, not at all surprised by the yawn that left him.

"Mhm…" His response was more a sound, and Hiyori couldn't help but smile as she carried him back towards the school, where her car was parked.

"If you're hungry, we can grab something quick to eat before we get home. Or do you just want to go to bed?" It dawned on her that Yukine had put up a fuss when they'd tried to have him eat the food from the party.

"'Amburger…" Yukine'd mumbled a response as Hiyori backed the car out of the parking lot.

"Ah, alright, Yukine-kun."

The girl remained unsurprised to see that the child had fallen asleep not even five minutes later. Regardless, she picked up the requested meal and drove back to Yato's house, turning to wake Yukine up once in the driveway.

Yukine groaned, but followed Hiyori into the house.

"You need to finish at least half of this, okay?" Hiyori set the hamburger down on the kotatsu, and Yukine scooted over to unwrap it.

"They putted cheese on there." He whined, picking small bits of the cheese off and wiping them on the kotatsu's cover.

"Ah, Yukine-kun, no-!" Hiyori leaned forwards, taking the burger from him and peeling the cheese off. "You can't get food on the kotatsu. If you do, Yato-daddy. Daddy won't be happy. Here, I took the cheese off, so let me take the blanket and wash it."

"Oh…" Yukine frowned, taking the sandwich back and scooting away. "Sorry." He pouted and sniffled, feeling certain that he had upset her.

"I accept your apology, Yukine-kun. Just don't do it again." Hiyori used a gentle tone, yet firm to let him know that it was wrong. She gathered up the duvet cover and draped it over her arm, disappearing down the hall to put it in the washing machine.

Yukine watched her go, before looking back down to the burger. He picked off a sesame seed and hesitated, looking back towards the table. Ahh...the wrapper. He grabbed it and set it down, starting to pick off the sesame seeds one by one; all the while depositing them onto the paper wrapping. After making sure that they were all off, he finally started eating.

"Yukine-kun...why take off the sesame seeds?" Hiyori came back from the laundry room after a few minutes, confusion clear on her face as she retook her seat on the couch.

"Don't like it." The child gave a simple response, taking a particularly large bite of the hamburger. "When's daddy coming back?" He seemed particularly concerned with Yato's absence, shooting a glance towards the front door almost expectantly.

"I'm not sure, Yukine-kun... but he'll be back by the time you wake up tomorrow, I promise."

* * *

By the third day of Yato having not come home yet, Yukine was starting to have a hard time believing in this so-called 'promise' business.

It had been _hours_.

"He didn't come back!" The child had locked himself in the bathroom, refusing to open the door. "He didn't come back 'cause-'cause he don't _like_ me no more!" His tone was angry, but he was dangerously close to becoming a sobbing mess.

These were wild accusations, but while Hiyori wanted to believe that none of it was true, she was beginning to worry.

Had Yato _really_ run off and left Yukine?

No, that was nonsense, she assured herself.

"Yukine-kun," she leaned against the barricade, pressing her open palms to the wood, "Yato wouldn't leave you. He loves you, very much!" She didn't feel good about it; Yukine was frustrated and lashing out at her, but she wasn't doing much better. "Oh, won't you please come out so we can talk about it?"

"No, I don't _want_ to!"

"-Hiyori?"

Through the commotion, a quiet voice called out to her. "What's going on? I'm sorry I was gone so long-oh jeez, is Yukine in there?" Yato had tried not to alarm the girl coming in, but still Hiyori jumped and whirled in place.

"Y-Yato! Where have you _been?"_ Hiyori's surprise and frustration quickly melted into concern. He didn't look like he had slept at all the entire time he was gone; in short, he looked _awful_.

The bathroom door clicked and opened, a pair of red and puffy eyes glaring out from the crack. "I hate you." These were Yukine's words for, 'I'm never going to forgive you', but still-Yato felt it best he try rather than not.

Normally, he would have corrected the boy; or more specifically, using the word 'hate' so easily. But right now, there were bigger problems, judging by the blond's tear streaked face. "Yukine-no, you don't...I'm so sorry. I didn't expect to be gone that long, I... please forgive me?" Despite feeling utterly exhausted, the young man crouched and held his arms out. "C'mere."

There was only a second of hesitation before Yukine stepped out of the bathroom, staring Yato down while not saying a word. His jaw trembled, angry tears once again sliding down his cheeks. After only a moment of consideration, he ran to Yato and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. He couldn't say anything, so he just settled for crying into the raven's neck and gripping tightly at his shirt.

* * *

"He hasn't slept well the entire time you've been gone. Yato, what kept you away so long? I thought it'd be a matter of hours...but it's been three days." Hiyori got right to the heart of the matter, once they'd relocated to the living room.

Yukine was refusing to let go of him, and Yato knew that he would have to discuss the topic here and now-whether the child heard everything or not.

"Well, to tell you the truth," Yato turned Yukine in his arms so that the child was lying down instead, half hoping that the position would lull him to sleep, "I didn't find her until the next day. I looked all over the city, but I eventually caught up with her at the Ryumeikan hotel. Let me just say, I've never been in a hotel that nice in my life."

Hiyori presented him with a blunt look, clearly saying that she wanted him to skip the pleasantries.

"Er...yeah. Anyway, I found her on Saturday. I discussed what I wanted to do, and she said that she would agree to waive her rights and authorize the adoption process. But she had a flight that went out yesterday…'course, the court isn't open on the weekend. I spent the whole morning there today, filling out paperwork to get a hearing scheduled. But since she doesn't have the money to book a flight back for it...it's going to be way more difficult than I expected it to be." Yato rubbed a hand over his face. "I have no blood relation to him, so of course they're gonna start by evaluating both biological parents. She already made a written statement signing over her rights, so I'm not too worried about that."

Despite sharing the news, Hiyori could tell that there was something else. "I see...what else? I can see your worry, Yato." It was as prominent as a rain cloud, looming over him with the threat of pouring down.

Yato took a deep breath, looking down at Yukine. The child had fallen asleep, so Yato steeled himself.

"They told me that...they're going to have to require his father's authorization for the adoption process as well. If his dad comes forward and wants to take him back or denies the authorization, I won't be able to do anything about it…"

"What? They can't _do_ that! Didn't his mom sign the rights over to you?" Hiyori immediately became upset. "She had to have, right?"

"She just gave them up in a written statement. She doesn't have his full documentation, so she can't even sign me temporary guardianship. Even worse, if Yukine's real father _does_ come forward, he could easily press charges against me for kidnapping. I could go to _jail,_ Hiyori."

"No way…" Hiyori pulled back, starting to comb her fingers through her hair. "You've had him for two years, Yato. And he tried to hurt Yukine-kun! There's no-they can't just…" She was visibly upset; they couldn't _do_ this, could they? Yukine'd had a stable life up to this point, so for it to be shattered this way…

They would have to fight for it, then.

And Hiyori was going to make _sure_ that Yato would get to keep Yukine.

* * *

 **Author:** I really considered wrapping this story up this chapter, but I thought of a direction I could take it in. Depending on what you, the readers, want to see, it can go in two directions: they can win the case and have Yukine, OR, they can lose it and Yukine will go to his dad. Of course this won't last-there's gonna be a happy ending maybe, but if he goes to his dad, there will be damage to overcome. So leave comments about which direction you'd prefer! The first one will mean that the story will end soon, but the alternate path will cover more chapters. Please let me know. :D


	8. Interlude

**Chapter Eight: Interlude**

* * *

"Shh...he sleep with him mouth open…"

Yukine had woken up earlier than Yato and Hiyori had. He'd climbed onto the bed and sat up by Yato's head, talking quietly to Fluff-whom he'd dragged with him. A quiet series of giggles left the child as Yato emitted a particularly loud snore, and he covered his mouth to keep himself quiet.

"Ahh…'yori-tan..." Craning his neck, Yukine could see Hiyori facing away from Yato, curled up on her side. Almost like a kitty, the child mused.

"Mmmngr…" Yato mumbled something in his sleep, and Yukine leaned in a little to properly hear what he was saying.

As soon as he was close enough, Yato's eyes snapped open and he reached out, grabbing Yukine around his middle and pulling him close. "Gotcha." He grinned, which caused the child to scream and dissolve into a fit of giggles.

"Noo, let me go, leggo!" Despite his protests, Yukine was making no actual effort to get away. Instead, he squirmed up to give a single prod at Yato's nose. "G'morning." His tone dropped to a whisper, a smile spread wide across his face.

"You two have such energy in the morning." Hiyori'd rolled over, resting her head against Yato's shoulder as she reached over to brush Yukine's hair back affectionately. Yukine poked his tongue out in response, before wriggling out of Yato's hold and sliding out of the bed.

"I hungry!" He declared, grabbing Fluff back to hold the plush against his chest. "Can we has pancakes?"

"Mm...only if you help me make them." Hiyori smiled as the Yukine laughed, watching him turn around and disappear down the hallway. "Mmm, Yato. Masaomi wants you to take Yukine in for his next round of shots, soon."

"Augh...do you remember how bad he reacted the last time? It's your turn." Yato groaned, shifting to press his forehead against hers. "He's gonna be yours soon, too, so that can be _your_ job. If we get married before I adopt him, we can adopt him together, right?"

"Well of course." Hiyori's smile didn't waver, but she did lift a finger to press it against Yato's lower lip. "Hey...I know you asked me to marry you for Yukine's benefit, but do you have any feelings for me at all, Yato?" She kept her tone soft, fuchsia hues gazing into azure.

Yato didn't immediately respond. Instead, he took her hand, lifting it up to press a kiss against her knuckles. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't, Hiyori."

Hiyori found herself blushing, and out of reflex went to duck her head-which immediately lead to her headbutting Yato in the nose. "Ah! I'm so sorry, Yato! Oh my gosh, are you okay?" She gasped, a hand moving to cover her mouth.

"It's-no, it's okay." Yato winced, pulling back as he rested a hand over his nose. "Ow. Shiiit. I'm gonna go take a shower." Instead of focusing on the dull throb pulsing through his nose, he disappeared out of bed and into the adjacent bathroom.

"Ohh…" Hiyori lingered, gazing back towards the bathroom for a moment before getting out of bed herself. "Hopefully I didn't hit him that hard…"

* * *

"Why you not put the egg in?"

Once in the Kitchen, Hiyori had combined all the ingredients that the mix had called for. "Hmm? I did, Yukine kun." She responded, a bit confusedly.

"No, you putted it in there." He pointed to the trash can, where she had discarded the egg shells.

"Oh. Well, you see-the white part isn't supposed to go into the pancakes. Here, do you want to stir it up for me?" Hiyori handed him the bowl, turning to pull the skillet out once he'd taken it.

"Why?" Yukine sat down with the bowl, starting to stir the mixture as hard as he could.

"Well, that's because it's the shell, and it has germs on it. If it gets into the food, it can sometimes make you really sick." Now that she thought about it, Yukine hadn't helped her much in the kitchen before; it was no wonder he didn't know.

"Oh." The child went quiet, putting a bit more effort into stirring up the batter. "Daddy telled me, where eggs come from."

"Did he now? Did he say they come from chickens?" Hiyori turned, resting her elbows against the counter as she watched him stir.

"Mhm! And, an' they _poop_ 'em out!"

The declaration was met with a choke, Hiyori immediately covering her mouth and trying not to laugh. "Th-that really is...a little inappropriate, Yukine-kun. But, you're not wrong." Her attempt to keep her laughter in failed, and Yukine simply looked up to her and smiled.

"What's so funny?" Yato entered the kitchen, a towel draped over his shoulders.

"You told him where eggs came from…" Hiyori laughed, reaching down to take the bowl from Yukine.

"Wait!" Yukine shouted in protest. "I not done yet." He pulled the bowl back, jutting out his lower lip as he gave Hiyori an angry pout for even thinking about taking it away.

"Okay, go ahead, Yukine-kun." Hiyori waved her hand, looking back towards Yato expectantly.

"...He asked where they came from, I told him. Hey, he's gonna learn this stuff eventually anyway, right?" Yato huffed, opening a drawer to pull out a spatula and point it at Hiyori. "It's alright to use toilet humor, as long as it's educational."

"There are better ways, Yato. Honestly! You're such a boy." Hiyori took the spatula and turned up her nose, yet there was no clear indication that she was genuinely annoyed. "As punishment for that, _you_ get to wash the dishes."

"H, hey! That does _not_ warrant punishment!" Yato complained, but Hiyori had already redirected her attention to Yukine and the pancake batter.

"If you don't give me the batter, I can't make them, Yukine-kun." Hiyori tried another tactic to get the bowl away from the boy. "Why don't you go turn on something to watch? Daddy can go with you."

"Mm...okay." Yukine saw this as a fair trade and handed her the bowl, getting to his feet and running over to Yato. "Let's go, let's go!" He had more energy than he knew what to do with, which lead to him grabbing Yato's hand and jumping in place.

"I'm going, I'm going." Yato rolled his eyes, looking over towards Hiyori again. "Keep an ear out for the phone. I'm expecting a call from the human services office since they were gonna get in touch with…y'know." He craned his head in Yukine's direction as he left, and Hiyori nodded to signal she understood.

* * *

The phone call lasted a while, and Hiyori found herself growing more anxious by the minute. Regardless, she kept Yukine busy while Yato spoke over the phone. She was in the middle of a capyperland-themed board game with the boy when Yato came back into the room.

"Well?" Hiyori peered at him expectantly. Whatever answer Yato had would determine whether or not they would have to fight for custody.

"They said he gave up his rights immediately… he didn't want anything to do with him. Though he _did_ agree to provide a DNA sample for testing. It's mostly to make sure that he's actually related, but they want me to also get a sample of Yukine's to send in as well." That was just another thing to add to the list of procedures they would need to complete, but Yato would be willing to do anything to keep the child, at this point. "They agreed to let us keep Yukine until they can sort out the paperwork. If we pass the home inspection day after tomorrow, that is."

"That's great news, Yato! I'm sure we'll pass it." Hiyori was absolutely ecstatic, pulling Yukine closer so that she could hug him. "That's good, isn't it, Yukine-kun? We're going to be a family!"

"We _already_ family," Yukine huffed in annoyance, "but it your turn!" He didn't really understand the situation-but her and Yato had been talking, and she hadn't yet taken her turn in the game.

"Oh-sorry, here." Hiyori picked up a card, reading the color off of it. "I got orange so...ah! The guards found me! I have to skip a turn and wait for Capyper-san to come get me from the ice cream arena." She picked up her game piece, moving it over to sit at a colorful table display with a sundae sat atop it.

"Hiyori." Yato waited until she'd taken her turn, but his expression was entirely serious. "Should we tell him? I mean...I never knew, and I don't want him growing up not knowing...but at the same time, I'm not sure that it'd be the best thing."

"We'll tell him." There was little hesitation on Hiyori's end. "But, we'll wait until he's a little older. He won't remember all of this, anyway, so there's really no point in worrying about it right now." He was still pretty young; _too_ young to really make sense of whole ordeal.

Yukine suddenly gasped, holding up a card. "Hiyori-tan, I gots brown! What it mean?"

"Brown? Oh, that means you visited Splash Mountain! Go forward a space and pick up another card." Hiyori smiled, pushing the deck of cards closer to Yukine. "Look out for a green one, okay? Those are special."

"Oh." Yukine nodded, picking up another card. "Purple…"

"I thought I picked all those out! Sorry, Yukine-kun." Hiyori took the card, setting it back in the box. "Those are only for older children." She flashed him an apologetic smile, looking over when Yato sat down. "How long did they say it would take to get the paperwork ready?" She was trying to divide her attention, and Yato noticed.

"About two months, or longer. They have several other cases, so... don't worry about it. I'll handle it." Yato assured her, trying to remain optimistic about the matter. He was mostly just nervous; he'd never thought that adopting Yukine would take so much work.

"Daddy, what this?" Yukine scooted over to Yato, holding up a card with a number on it.

"That's a three, Yukine. Same as your age. I thought you told me yesterday you could count to ten?" A skeptical look was given to the child.

"I can!" Yukine responded, tone defensive. "I just, I just…!" He looked down at the card and pouted, before throwing it at Yato. He then crossed his arms, puffing out his cheeks.

"Yukine-kun, please don't throw things at daddy. That's not nice." Hiyori was quick to reprimand the boy as Yato picked the fallen card up.

"It's not like it hurt." Azure hues looked over at Hiyori. "C'mon, Yukine. Move your piece three spots ahead."

"I don't wanna play no more." Yukine got to his feet, going over to the couch and climbing up to sit down.

"...Did I say something wrong?" Yato looked over to Hiyori confusedly, not entirely sure why Yukine had reacted the way he had.

"I don't think so. It may just be...n-a-p-t-i-m-e." She spelled it out, but Yukine still popped up as if he understood what she'd spelled out. "C'mon, Yukine-kun." Hiyori got up, going over to the couch to scoop the child up. "Yato, can you put the game away, please?"

"Yeah." Yato gathered up the rest of the pieces as Hiyori disappeared down the hall, not in the least surprised when he heard Yukine start crying. The kid hated naps, but he'd act even worse if he didn't get them.

He packed the game away into the closet, shutting the door back as Hiyori came back into the room. "You look tired, Hiyori. Maybe we should get a nap of our own?" The raven crossed over to the girl, wrapping his arms around her. "Thank you." He murmured, kissing her jaw.

"Yato, stop it." Hiyori laughed, blushing a bright shade of red. "Come on, let's just go. If we want to get any more sleep, now's the perfect time."

* * *

"So, how've you two been? I haven't spoken to either of you since you called me about the home inspection. That was what, four weeks ago?" Masaomi spoke to Hiyori as he tried to get Yukine's height, nudging his feet together to measure him correctly.

"Yato's been okay. His shift changed two weeks ago, so he's been gone during the day. I've been managing everything else, but I'm trying to get my college applications done, too. I've just been really tired lately..." Hiyori rested her chin in her palm, watching as Masaomi wrote something down on his clipboard.

"Tired? Have you been doing any strenuous activity out of the norm?" Lifting Yukine up to set him back down on the examination table, Masaomi turned to look back at Hiyori. "He hasn't grown much since his last visit. He's a bit on the small side. Weight is fine for his height, though."

"I not small." Yukine picked out a plastic dinosaur from the crate next to him, turning it over in his hands.

"Not really…oh no, Yukine-kun...you're not that small, don't worry." She was well aware that the child was small for his age, but she'd always made a point of avoiding it. "Ah, there's also-Yato wanted me to ask you about getting a DNA sample for the forensics lab."

"Hm, alright. I'll get that ordered before you leave. So, any dizziness? Nausea?" Walking to the door, Masaomi stuck his head out to call for a nurse.

"The dizziness, definitely. I think it's just because of how tired I've been. I was nauseous this morning, though…" She frowned. "You don't think it's the flu, do you? Has that been going around?"

"No, it's not that season yet." Stepping back into the room, he went over to Yukine. "Well, Yukine-kun. You've grown a bit, so I hope you take the shots better than last time."

"Shot?" Yukine dropped the toy, shooting Hiyori a terrified look. "No! No shot!"

"Good thing I requested a nurse...ah, Hiyori-would you be willing to give me a urine sample while you're here? I have a hunch, but I just need to make sure." He grabbed his stool, pulling it closer so that he could sit down. Yukine whimpered, backing up towards the wall behind him.

"A urine samp-oh no, you don't think I'm-?" Hiyori fell quiet as Yukine screamed in reaction to the nurse coming in with the shot kit. "Yukine-kun, it's alright!" She got up to comfort the child, but Masaomi shook his head.

"I got this, don't worry. Go let Rina know that you need to take a test." Masaomi nodded towards the door, and Hiyori sighed. "Hiyori, listen. It's safer to at _least_ rule it out. Go on now, there's no need to be embarrassed."

Hiyori didn't put up much more of a fight, standing up and going to the door.

"Mama, no!" Yukine'd panicked, seeing Hiyori going to leave. He reached out for her, starting to cry.

"Yukine-kun," Masaomi spoke to the child, nodding at Hiyori to go, "Have I ever shown you my sticker collection? I have lots and lots of them, and I'll give you as many as you want if you take one shot for me."

The reasoning seemed to calm the boy, and he sniffled. "Really?" He was obviously suspicious, but Masaomi persisted.

"Really. I'm very serious. So, just one? It'll be over before you know it." He smiled as Yukine nodded tearfully, the child's lower lip trembling. "It's alright, Yukine-kun. You're being very brave."

The shot was administered easily enough, and thankfully Yukine didn't put up too much of a fuss afterwards. He even got a colorful bandage, which he showed off to Hiyori as she entered the room again.

"Hiyori-tan, look! I did it!" He was excited to tell her how well he had done, and the girl smiled at him.

"You did very well! I'm so proud of you, Yukine-kun! Is this the bandage you got?" She moved over to talk to him, dragging her chair over to sit next to the exam table.

Masaomi stood. "Well Yukine-kun, I'll have to go get my sticker book. I'll also be looking at that sample, Hiyori, so I'll be back." He left the room, giving the two some time alone.

* * *

"Hey, how did it go?" Yato was home by the time the pair returned, attempting to get the dishes washed from that morning.

"I gots stickers, daddy! Lookie!" Yukine ran into the kitchen to show him, lifting up his arms which were absolutely covered in them.

"Wow, those are a lot of stickers, Yukine. You did well, then?" Yato smiled, feeling a bit better that Yukine took it well.

"Mhm!" The child grinned. "I go out there?" He asked, pointing to the back door.

"He called me mama earlier," Hiyori set her purse down, her usual smile absent from her features, "probably because he was scared at first." She sat down at the island, resting her arms on the countertop.

"Sure. Go play, Yukine." Yato responded to the child, watching him go before turning his attention to Hiyori. "Are you okay, Hiyori? You look terrible..." Pulling up a stool, he sat across from her and brushed her hair away from her eyes. She tried to smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Y'know how I've been complaining about being tired?" She took his hand, linking their fingers together as he nodded. "Well, I found out why."

"Oh my god, is it serious? Are you sick?" There was an instant look of fear in his eyes, and Hiyori vehemently shook her head to dismiss said fear.

"No, no! Nothing like that." Hiyori took a deep breath, picking up his other hand and giving them both a squeeze. "Promise you won't get mad?"

"Mad? Why would I get mad? You haven't done anything wrong, Hiyori." He assured her, leaning in to press a kiss to her forehead. "Tell me what's up. We'll deal with it together, right?"

Despite the reassurance, Hiyori was still nervous. She nodded however, looking down to avoid meeting his eyes.

"I'm not sure how to say this, so I'm going to just...I'm pregnant, Yato."

* * *

 **Author:** ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) They didn't do much sleeping during that nap, if you get my drift. Haha, anyway! The unanimous vote was that they would get to keep Yukine. Now they have even more to deal with though, so we'll see how Yukine takes the news soon. The truth is, I was gonna try to end it this chapter. But then I got the pregnancy idea, so I think I can squeeze in a couple more chapters. (I just really want to experiment with the dynamic a little more, if that's alright! Have some cute moments and increased Yatori because I am in shipping denial.)


	9. Mother's Day

**Author:** Hey guys! Sorry for not updating in a while. I actually had a bit of writer's block with the chapter, but once I decided what to do, it came pretty easily. I hope you can forgive me for the delay! Some extra notes will be added at the end to avoid spoiling the special events in this chapter. :D (As a side note, for those asking for a description of what went on during 'naptime', I am sorry to disappoint-but I don't write that kind of thing. I encourage you to use your imagination, though!)

* * *

 **Chapter Nine: Mother's Day**

"You're…" The word was practically breathed from Yato's lips. He'd gone pale immediately, but not for the reason Hiyori thought.

"Oh God, Yato, I didn't mean-,"

"No, it's not that! It's just...you're still young, Hiyori. I know you've helped me raise Yukine, but adding another child to the mix, I don't want you to become overwhe-,"

"Yato, calm down. I didn't want it to sound like I didn't want to have a child with you. It's just," Hiyori shook her head, "I'm supposed to be going to school soon...how are we going to afford it?" It wasn't like they were barely making it, but Yato wasn't making enough to support another child, for sure.

"I'll pick up a second job, obviously. It's okay, we'll make it work. I was thinking of doing that already, anyway. " They had to make it work. "There's also, you know...the alternative." Yato's expression dropped to one of uncertainty.

"You mean…? Oh no, Yato. I can't do that. I wouldn't. Let's just...I don't want to tell my parents just yet. I won't be showing for a while, so that means...we really need to get the wedding out of the way."

"Huh? What does the wedding have to-," Yato paused, realization dawning on him, "a-ah...right." Everyone would be there. While it was possible the whole thing could be attributed to weight, if Hiyori didn't want her parents finding out just yet, they would need to do it soon. Plus, the sake that they had to consume during the ceremony… "And what about Yukine? What should we tell him?" And when?

Hiyori shrugged. "I think waiting until I'm showing would be best...I want it to be easier for him to understand."

* * *

The next couple of months passed with little problem. The wedding had been small, but she never had been one to dream of anything elaborate to begin with. The simplicity that Yato had included had been more than she could have asked for, even in the beginning.

The month after was May; and Hiyori had begun to show. The morning started out like any other; Yato had left earlier to go pick up some donuts, per Hiyori's current craving, and they'd all sat down to eat them and watch the early morning news once he'd returned.

"Today is Mother's Day, and children are waking up early to greet their mothers with flowers. Over the last couple of days, the prices have raised in anticipation of potential customers coming through with their purchases. A festival will be held in the Tokyo prefecture this afternoon, but it's advised to bring your umbrella because it is typhoon season…"

"Hiyori-tan, what that?" Yukine stood up on the couch, pointing at the TV.

"Huh? You mean Mother's Day?" Hiyori blinked, unsure of whether or not that was what Yukine meant specifically.

"Mhm." Yukine nodded an affirmative, sliding off of the couch and walking around to rest his head on her lap. He was still tired, but he would never admit that. If he did, they'd make him take a nap early.

Smiling, Hiyori reached down to brush her fingers through the boy's hair. "Mother's day is when you show your love for your mama." She explained it simply. "Children buy flowers for their mamas, and tell them how much they love them. There are also festivals." Of course, he probably knew that.

"Can we go to one, Hiyori-tan? Please?" He looked up at her, eyes almost pleading. Hiyori looked over at Yato, who caught her expression.

"Not this time, buddy," he knew the time would come-just not this soon, "Hiyori can't but up on her feet for too long 'cause they're swelling."

As expected, Yukine's response was immediate.

"Why?" The prompt was laced with confusion and concern, and the child sat down to grab one of Hiyori's feet. He inspected it for any signs of scrapes or bruises, pressing his ear against the bottom of her foot. "They sick?" He rephrased his question, brows furrowing as the topic of the festival was temporarily put out of his mind.

Hiyori and Yato looked at each other, and Hiyori started to giggle. "That tickles, Yukine-kun. Come here." She pulled him into her lap, taking his hand into her own. "Have you noticed anything different about my tummy?"

Yukine didn't directly respond to the question just yet, instead looking down at her stomach to see what she meant. "It...bigger?" He blinked. When had that happened? "You eated too much? Do it hurt?" Cocking his head, he placed his free hand on her stomach and rubbed in small circles.

"Ah...um, not quite." Maybe it was too soon? She looked over at Yato again, who nodded his head in encouragement. "It's actually...there's a baby in my tummy, Yukine-kun."

Yukine's head shot up. "You eated a baby!?" He looked genuinely scared for a moment, but Hiyori was very quick to dash that assumption.

"No, no! No, Yukine-kun, I didn't eat a baby. There's just one growing in my tummy. And when it comes out, you'll have a baby brother or sister. Do you understand?"

Yukine covered his mouth with his hand, brows still furrowed as he tried to make the connection.

Maybe he didn't understand, Hiyori thought. "You don't, do you?" She prodded him gently, trying to garner any kind of response.

"Yes," Yukine responded automatically, "I know. But how it get in there?"

Oh. It dawned on Hiyori exactly what he was asking. "That's a question for daddy, now isn't it?"

"Hey." The question prompted a sour look from the man sitting next to her. "That's not my divisio-..."

Hyori's look said she wasn't going to let it go.

Yato cleared his throat. "W, well, Yukine… a baby is made when two people love each other, very much. Do you remember, when you helped me plant those flowers when we moved in? The seeds?"

"Uh...hm." Yukine nodded, vaguely recalling the day they moved in. "We plant...teeeeny, little seeds." He squished his fingers together for emphasis.

"That's right, they were tiny. And now they've grown out. They grew from those tiny little seeds." Yato kept the explanation as simple as he could. "So, I gave Hiyori a seed, and now she's going to have a baby."

"So it yours?" Wait wait. So the baby belonged to both of them…?

"Yes, Yukine. That's right. We decided to have a baby, together." Okay, so maybe it hadn't been decided, but the specifics hardly mattered, to such a young child. Or, so Yato thought. All conversation came to a stop as his phone rang, and he pulled it out to answer it. "Hello?" He stood up, walking back to the kitchen as he started talking.

"Ah. Yukine-kun, do you have anymore questions?" Hiyori decided to pick up the topic, following Yato's leave.

"Um," tapping his lower lip, Yukine shrugged, "no?"

"You're going to be a good big brother, aren't you? You're going to be able to teach the baby so many things, Yukine-kun. You're very bright." Hiyori knew that the news of there being a new baby could potentially bring up worries from Yukine, but he seemed to be handling it okay. If anything, he'd had less of a reaction than she'd expected.

"Yeah." Yukine nodded, looking back over to the TV. The woman was still discussing Mother's Day, it looked like. The boy sighed, before reaching over to the other side of the couch to grab the remote. He flipped through the channels, eventually landing on an early learning channel. The host, too, was talking about Mother's Day. Scrunching his nose, Yukine promptly turned the TV off. "Can I go play?" He pointed to the back door.

"Yes. Just be careful, and don't get too dirty. And if it starts raining, come back in." Hiyori spoke to him as he went to the kitchen.

"Okay." He responded simply, stopping right before he could open the door. Running back to the front room, he grabbed Fluff off the couch and left out the back door.

Yato soon came back into the living room. "I got the appointment set up at the high court for June 19th…so I called Kazuma to see if I could get off. He said I could, but to make up for it, I gotta do my shift early. So I gotta leave in an hour. Will things be okay, here?"

"Of course." Hiyori smiled reassuringly, stretching out on the couch. "I'm just glad you were able to get the date scheduled. Yukine's playing outside, so he should be alright. I told him to come in if the weather turned bad." The boy was very good about listening to her, so she wasn't that worried. "When do you think you'll be back?"

"Probably about 4 this evening. If I don't call you by half an hour after that, you can call me to see if anything changes." Putting his phone in his pocket, Yato crossed the room to press a kiss to her lips. "Love you. Tell Yukine I love him, too, and that I'll be back."

"Mm, alright. I love you, Yato. Be careful." Hiyori smiled as he left, sinking a little further down on the couch. Taking up the remote, she started flipping through the channels again just to see if there was anything to watch.

* * *

An hour had passed when Yato got a call at work.

"Hey, what's up Hiyori?" He answered it as he moved to the back room, nodding to his coworker as he slipped by.

"Yukine-kun's not in the backyard," Hiyori's voice wavered, sounding dangerously close to crying, "Yato, I looked up and down the block, it's raining-I can't find him! He's gone, I-you have to come home, right now!"

Through her hysterical tone, Yato's mind immediately went blank. Had he... heard her right?

"Yato?"

Yato snapped out of his daze with a swear. "Fuck. Hiyori, stay there in case he comes home, alright? I'll go look for him." He ended the call and walked back out to the front, not even stopping to clock out. "Kazuma, I have to go. Yukine went missing."

Kazuma was hot on his trail. "Wait, what? Don't worry about it-do you want me to help?" The bespectacled man hadn't met the child, but Yato had brought enough pictures of him that he knew quite well what the boy looked like.

"Yeah-search around the park, I'm gonna go drive around the neighborhood. If you see him, call me immediately." Yato barely finished talking before he was out the door, heading straight to his car as Kazuma followed suit.

* * *

"Where could he have gone?" They'd split up pretty early on. Kazuma felt sure of where Yato had gone looking, so he'd stuck to scoping out the other area as instructed.

As far as he knew, Yato had never described Yukine as a troublesome kid; if anything, he was much too well-behaved for his age. So why was it that he would simply leave? The more he thought about it, the less it made sense.

He'd just turned onto the next street when he caught sight of some blond hair, just barely visible through the rain pelting his windshield. He panicked, slamming on the breaks before he could get too close. The car skidded forwards as it rolled to a stop, and Kazuma swore. "Shit, Yukine! Hey!" He hopped out, seeing the child absolutely paralyzed with fear-less than a foot away from the vehicle.

If he hadn't stopped when he had...

"Come here, what do you think you're doing?" Picking the child up, Kazuma placed him to sit on the hood of his car as he pulled his phone out.

Yukine jerked in reflex and started crying, Fluff dropping out of his arms and plopping against the road as he shoved his hands over his eyes. Kazuma stalled after dialing Yato's number, balancing the phone in the crook of his shoulder as he leaned forwards to rub Yukine's back.

"Yato, I found him. He's okay. Soaked to the bone, but okay." The words had just barely left Kazuma's lips before Yato was cutting him off, relief heavy in his voice.

"Oh Kazuma-san-thank God...where are you? I'll be there as fast as I can."

* * *

After getting the street name from Kazuma, Yato had wasted no time at all in going straight there. He could see them both as he pulled up, but he didn't immediately get out of the car. If he did, he knew he was going to lose his temper.

Of course he was angry. He was angry, and scared...but mostly just so damn relieved that Yukine had been found before something had happened to him.

After gathering his composure he got out, walking around both vehicles to where Yukine was sitting. "Yukine," he crouched down to look up at him, "why did you leave the backyard?"

Yukine didn't respond; he turned away from Yato, sniffing quietly as he rubbed rain and tears from his face. Although he wasn't at an age where he could experience guilt, he was afraid of Yato getting mad.

A moment of silence passed between them, the only sound being the rain as it showered the ground in pellets. Yato eventually sighed, straightening back to his feet. "Kazuma-san, thanks for finding him. I'll come in early tomorrow to make up for the missing hours." He picked Yukine up as Kazuma waved a hand.

"Don't worry about it, Yato. We're friends, so...I'll take care of it. It was an emergency, anyway." Kazuma simply smiled, turning back to get in his car.

"Hey...Yukine." Walking back to his own car, Yato hooked a finger under Yukine's chin to make him look up. "I don't want you doing that again, do you understand? You really worried Hiyori, and that's not good for her, or the baby. I know you didn't mean it, but I would really like to know why you left. How did you open the gate?"

Yukine shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes as he forcibly looked away again.

* * *

"Yukine-kun!" Hiyori was waiting at the door for them when they got back, and she immediately started crying as she picked Yukine up and held him. "Please- please don't do that again," she whispered, pressing a kiss to his head, "oh God, Yukine-kun-I was so scared…"

"Be careful. The rain soaked him, so he needs a bath." Yato closed the front door behind himself, going straight to the bathroom to start running some warm water.

Although Hiyori had heard him, she didn't really respond. Instead she moved to the couch, setting Yukine down and cupping his cheek. "What happened, baby? Why did you leave?" She sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Much like the reaction he'd given Yato, Yukine averted his gaze and sniffled. However, he did actually respond after a minute, his voice quiet.

"I-today mama's day. I look for mama, but...I not have one..."

Hiyori's heart sank, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. He'd gone looking for his mother…?

"Y-Yukine...-kun," she had to approach this delicately, "I know...you really want your mother. Maybe I didn't realize that I wasn't honest enough, but...I am kind of your mama now, okay? When I said we were going to be a family, I became your mama. Is that alright with you?"

Yukine's eyes widened, as if he realized what she meant. "Me, I can call Hiyori-tan 'mama'?" He was asking permission, sniffing as he wiped his nose on his sleeve.

"Of course, Yukine-kun. That would make me very happy." Hiyori smiled, reaching out to ruffle his hair.

Yukine smiled back in returned, before a small gasp left him. "Oh!" He reached into his pocket, pulling out a flattened, white daisy. He pouted, holding it in his hands. "Wanted to give flower to mama…" He held it up to Hiyori. "Sorry…"

"Oh, Yukine-kun, that's alright. I love it, just the same. But most of all, I love you." She tapped his nose, pulling him back into her arms as she took the flower. She would have to press it-maybe it would be alright.

This would definitely have to be a story to tell him when he got older.

Yukine laughed, wrapping his arms around her to give her a hug. "Happy Mama's Day, mama. Love you."

"I love you too, Yukine."

* * *

 **End Notes:** So! I thought about writing a bit for the wedding, but in the end I decided against it. I'm not too versed in Japanese weddings, and I was kinda pressed for time trying to get this chapter out by today. I considered whether or not to include Yato at the end, but I decided against it. The theme _was_ mother's day, after all. Also, I did want to write a mini-adventure of Yukine going out to find his mom, but I didn't want to give the reason he left away-even if it was a little obvious. I might write a one-shot about it if it's requested, though. :D


	10. Sick Day

**Author:** Holy crap, this took way longer to write than I thought it would. The particular subject just didn't come easy for me? I'm not going to complain though-I actually really like how this chapter turned out! All things considered, anyway. :D I'm really exited to write the next chapter, so that one should be up fairly soon.

 **Chapter Ten: Sick Day**

* * *

The next day, Hiyori'd woken up early due to morning sickness. While she sat in the bathroom waiting on the nausea to pass, a rather wet sounding cough from the doorway grabbed her attention.

"Mama, Fluff not here..." Yukine rested against the doorway, eyes bright and glazed over. He pulled his shirt up over his nose and mouth, coughing into the fabric again.

"Oh no…" Hiyori didn't respond to his statement; instead, she wrapped an arm around Yukine and brought him closer so that she could rest a hand against his forehead. As she suspected, he was burning up. "Let's go wake daddy up, okay? We'll look for Fluff later." Picking the child up, she placed him on her hip and went back to the bedroom.

"Yato," Hiyori reached out to rub Yato's shoulder, "wake up. Yukine's sick."

Yato stirred, barely having understood what Hiyori was saying.

"Daddy-," Yukine tried to call out to him next, but dissolved into a coughing fit almost instantly.

This was effective in waking Yato up. His eyes popped open immediately and he sat up, taking Yukine from Hiyori to place a hand on his forehead. "Shit." He stood up with him, going straight to the bathroom to get the thermometer out of the medicine cabinet. "Here, put this under your tongue." He sat Yukine down on top of the laundry machine, stepping just out of the bathroom to talk to Hiyori.

"Did you just wake up?" He kept his voice low, so he could listen for the thermometer.

"About a half hour ago. Morning sickness." Hiyori smiled. "Um, Ami-chan and Yama-chan are supposed to come by to take me to my brother's office in Fuchu for an ultrasound in two hours, but if Yukine's sick…"

"I'll take care of him. Why Fuchu, though? Why can't he just do it here?" It would have been more convenient, honestly, but…

"He wants me to go there for my ultrasounds, since they have a 3D machine there. He wants to make sure the pregnancy goes well, and he works out there on Mondays. My dad's working locally today, so while I could go to him, I still haven't told him or my mother about this."

"Hiyori, you know you're gonna-," Yato's response was clipped by the beep of the thermometer, followed by Yukine trying to get his attention, "hold on." He stepped back into the bathroom, taking the thermometer from Yukine's mouth to read it. "38.4. It's not too high, but I'll keep an eye on it." He picked Yukine back up, holding him as he continued talking. "You're gonna have to tell them at some point. You can't avoid them over the next five months."

"I know that!" Hiyori exclaimed, lowering her voice when Yukine whined in protest. "I know that...I'm just trying to figure out how to tell them."

"We can do it together. Trust me, if they were to get mad about it, I'm the one they would pounce on." Yato smiled, giving a shrug. "I'm fine with that."

"Well, I'm not!" Hiyori huffed childishly. "I have to take a shower...are you sure Kazuma-san will let you call off today?" She was worried, but Yato seemed to have it together.

"It'll be fine. Don't worry. He knows Yukine was out in the storm yesterday, so there was a chance he'd get sick. He knows I wouldn't lie, either. I'll just have to bust my a-er, behind, when I get back." He had promised Kazuma, but unfortunately, it just wouldn't work out. "I'm sure he could get someone to cover my shift. Ahh...also, I'm not working friday night, so if you want to go out…"

"Are you asking me on a date, Yato?" Hiyori seemed surprised.

"No-I mean, yes. Yes I am. If the kid is feeling better, that is. Mizuchi doesn't have any plans that weekend, so I already asked if she could watch Yukine." Adjusting said child to rest on his shoulder, Yato turned to close the bathroom door. "I offered to pay her."

"I don't know how I feel about that." Hiyori groaned. "Mizuchi's gotten to be pretty odd...nothing against her, it's just she's become really distant over the past couple of years. She's sixteen now, and you know how girls her age are. She probably wouldn't get along with Yukine, either…"

"Really?" Yato cocked a brow. "Hiyori, you were that age when you started helping me with Yukine. Anyway, it's not like he'll be alone with her. She's babysitting Daigo, too. Kofuku and Daikoku are going to the pachinko parlor that night, so I told Mizuchi she could bring their kid over for a sleepover."

"When do you find the time to plan all of this?" It seemed like he was working constantly already, yet he still had the time to plan more than she did, currently.

"I've been wanting to take you on a date for a while now. Rather...Kazuma said it was weird, how we're married now and haven't gone on an actual date yet." Maybe it was a little weird, but with everything going on…

"I'm fine with that!" Hiyori assured him, cheeks tinting red. "I haven't been on many dates, so it'll be nice." Her life really did revolve around these two, didn't it? "Aaahh, forget that, I need to start getting ready!" She shifted past Yato into the bathroom, the door clicking shut behind her.

"Well, looks like it's just you and me, Yukine." Adjusting his hold on the child, Yato went to the living room and sat down on the couch. "Are you hungry at all?" They probably had medicine somewhere, but Yato wasn't entirely sure. Maybe he'd ask Hiyori to pick some up while she was out, just in case.

"Mm-mm." Yukine rested his forehead against Yato's chest, just barely shaking his head.

"Alright...just get some rest, then. I'll make you some chicken rice porridge in a few hours-you gotta eat a little bit, okay?" Yato brushed his fingers through the child's hair, gently lulling him into a light sleep as he picked the remote up.

* * *

"Ami and Yama-chan are here, so I'm off, Yato. I'll be back." It was an hour later when Hiyori had emerged from the bathroom, dressed with her hair pulled back in a high ponytail.

"Okay. Be careful, it's still pretty damp outside and it looks like it might start storming again." Yato kept his voice low, not having moved from his place on the couch since Yukine had fallen asleep. "Would you mind picking up some children's cold medicine while you're out? My wallet's on the table by the door. He's never really been sick before, so I don't think I have any. Er-if I do, it's from when he first got here and probably expired." It was possible, but he didn't want to chance giving the child expired medicine.

"Of course. Make sure Yukine-kun gets lots of rest." She walked over to the pair, pressing a quick kiss to Yato's lips and another to the top of Yukine's head. "I love you."

"I love you too. Tell the girls I said hey." Yato waved her off, and the house fell quiet save for the drone of the TV.

An hour and a half ticked by and Yato was startled out of his concentration when Yukine stirred from a coughing fit. The boy immediately pulled away from Yato to shove a hand over his mouth, gasping sharply in between coughs.

"Whoa-easy! Are you alright?" Yato moved to rub circles against the boy's back as he coughed.

"Yeah," Yukine sniffed, pressing his cheek into his palm after his coughs subsided, "m'hungry…" His stomach growled, further emphasizing his words.

"Alright. Sit tight and I'll make you that rice porridge." Moving the child to sit next to him, Yato got to his feet and disappeared into the kitchen. He could hear the channels flipping, and he silently kept an ear out for what the child was watching as he cooked.

* * *

"Here, Yukine. It's hot, so be careful." Yato placed the porridge on the table, moving to sit down across from him. "I never made this stuff, but I used to help my mom in the kitchen a lot. It shouldn't taste too bad."

"Mm..." Yukine hummed tiredly, scooping out a bite and blowing on it. Tasting it caused his nose to scrunch, and he looked up at Yato with quite the disappointed expression. "It don't taste good...i'm eat it, though…" He was hungry and it was at least warm-and the taste wasn't that awful. It just wasn't yummy.

"What, really? Let me see." He reached over to scoop some out with his finger, not bothering to blow on it as he tasted it. "Gweh, hot!" He stuck his tongue out, and Yukine laughed. "It tastes fine to me. Could just be because you're sick. Your taste buds get messed up."

"Mhm." Yukine nodded in understanding, turning away to cough before taking another bite. "It better." He concluded that it was okay to eat, and Yato nodded.

"Okay. You eat that, and I'll go wash the dishes. Call me if you need me." He'd have some himself, since there was plenty left over. He left Yukine to eat, disappearing back into the kitchen.

He'd gotten most of the dishes washed when the light in the kitchen went out.

"Ah, shit-." Yato was absolutely certain that it was the power. "Yukine, the power went out, so stay where you are." He called out loudly enough for the boy to hear him, but he didn't get much in the way of a response.

"Yukine?" He turned the water off and went to the front room, seeing the child hunched over as tightly as he could get. It dawned on Yato that the darkness was scaring him, and he moved to grab a flashlight out from under the sink. He carried it back over to Yukine, crouching to sit next to him.

"Hey-I'm here, it's okay. Everything's going to be okay." He assured the boy quietly, flipping the switch on the flashlight to illuminate the area around them.

Cautiously, Yukine unfolded as he stared at the illuminating light. "I, it scary." He scooted closer to Yato, until he was practically sitting in his lap. He was shaking, but Yato's presence definitely helped.

"The dark doesn't have to be so scary." Yato responded. "Here, I'll show you. Wanna hold the flashlight?" Handing the flashlight down to Yukine, he pointed to the wall behind the TV. "Aim it there. I'll show you something cool."

"Um, okay." Yukine nodded, turning the light to illuminate the wall across from them. He was unsure of what Yato intended to do, but that was answered soon enough when a peculiarly formed shadow popped up in front of the light.

"Do you know what that is?" Yato's question caused him to tilt his head, a thoughtful look slipping into place.

"It look like a...bunny?" Kind of, anyway-it was hard to tell. "How you do that?" Yukine looked up at his hands, brows furrowing in confusion.

"It's shadow puppets," Yato explained, changing up the shadow to one of a bird, "once you learn how to do them, it's pretty easy. You want to try?" He offered to let Yukine try, but the boy shook his head.

"Noooo." Yukine shook his head fervently, hugging the flashlight against his chest. "I want Fluff..." He sniffed, rubbing at his eyes.

"Fluff? Where did you put him?" Yato dropped the shadow play attempt and wrapped his arms around Yukine, stroking his hair. He hadn't seen the plush; not since the day before, before he left for work.

"I, I no know...I taked him look for mama, but him not here when I sleeped." Yukine did his best to explain around what words he did and didn't know; it was hard, but hopefully Yato understood.

"So you took him with you when you left yesterday but he wasn't here when you came home? Is that right?"

"Mhm." Yukine nodded, dropping the flashlight and turning to hide his face against Yato as thunder rumbled outside. "Still scary, daddy..." He whimpered, a cough racking through him as he gripped at the hem of Yato's shirt.

"Yeah...yeah, I know." Yato smiled pityingly, stroking Yukine's hair affectionately. "Ah, I have an idea! C'mon, Yukine." He grabbed the flashlight and stood up with Yukine, walking back towards the child's room. "We're going to make a fort. Having the flashlight on in there will make it brighter, right?" He knew Yukine should have been resting, but there was no way he would until the power came back on.

Yukine nodded, fully supporting the idea.

By the time it was built, several couch cushions and sheets were missing from their proper places. They'd sat it up right in the middle of Yukine's room, although Yato could only fit half of himself inside. This was fine with him though, because he knew it was mostly for Yukine's comfort.

Yato was reading now, doing his best voice impressions just as he always did when reading Yukine to sleep. "Come, Boy," he read, looking up to make sure Yukine was listening, "come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade, and be happy."

Just as he was about to read the next line, his phone went off. "Oh, hold on, Yukine, it's mama. Daddy's gotta take this one." Yato backed out of the fort, dragging his finger across the phone's screen to answer it, "Yeah? What's up, Hiyori?" Yato sat up, sticking the phone against his ear.

"Hey, Yato. The appointment went well, but the storm got too intense so we're waiting it out in the pharmacy. I grabbed Yukine's medicine. Is he feeling better?" Hiyori's voice filtered through, and Yato nodded even though she couldn't see it.

"Yeah, I figured. The power is out, here. Yukine's doing fine, but he dropped Fluff somewhere outside yesterday and he's pretty torn up over it. How did the appointment go? Is the baby alright?" Yato turned to glance at Yukine, watching him flip through the pages of his book.

"He did? Oh no, he told me that! I completely forgot to look for him." Yato could hear Hiyori's tone fall. "You said Kazuma-san found Yukine-kun near the park yesterday? Once the storm lets up, I'll check the area out and see if I can find him. If he's not ruined…" Hiyori trailed off, before turning the conversation in a different direction. "Oh, also-the appointment went well! I actually have a question for you, Yato."

"Hm? Alright, shoot." Yato got to his feet, taking a look out the window to see if the storm had let up any. So far, it was still coming down just as badly as it had been earlier.

"Do twins run in your family?"

"What?" Yato nearly dropped the phone. He hadn't even considered that a possibility. "Well, I-I guess? My mom's sister would have had twins, but she lost one halfway through the pregnancy. But yeah, I guess it kinda counts. Why? Are there two of them, Hiyori?"

"Yes, there are... I'm going to have to tell my parents. I know it's scary, but you picking up two jobs won't be enough, and I don't want you to have to do that much. I need you... So we're going to need help. I called and told my parents we're coming over for dinner next weekend." Hiyori's voice carried a remorseful tone, and she added quietly, "I'm sorry, Yato."

"Don't be." Yato responded quickly. "It's not a bad thing, Hiyori. Not at all. I just wasn't expecting it, you know? You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. I love you, and I'll love these children just as much. We're in this together. Though...we'll definitely be using condoms after this." He laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

Thankfully, Hiyori laughed back. "Yeah… thank you, Yato. I was so scared about how you would react that I couldn't bring myself to tell you when I got home. You're taking this much better than I did."

"Well, somebody's gotta keep a clear head." Yato grinned teasingly. "I love you, Hiyori. I'll see you when you get home."

* * *

Yato had just finished putting the cushions back on the couch when Hiyori walked through the door.

"Yato, I'm home. I see the power came back on. Is Yukine-kun asleep?" Hiyori closed the door behind her, setting her purse on the table and walking into the living room.

"Yeah, he fell asleep about a half hour ago. I had to prop him up with extra pillows. He kept coughing." Yato smiled, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her. "Did you have a good time with the girls?" He kissed her, and Hiyori reached up to thread her fingers through his hair.

"Mm, I did." She smiled, kissing the corner of his lips. "I got Yukine-kun's medicine. And also…" she pulled away, lifting a Ziploc baggie out of the bag. "I found Fluff. He's very wet, but I'll try tossing him in the dryer to see if he'll come back to life. I know how important he is to Yukine-kun, so...I'll do my best."

"Mm. Hiyori, you are beautiful." Yato pulled her in for one last kiss before letting her go. "Here, I'll go put that in the laundry machine for you. You've been on your feet all day, so you should take a rest." He plucked the bag out of her hands, unzipping it. "Since Yukine hasn't been asleep for too long, you can wake him up before we go to bed and give it to him."

"I'll do that. Let me know if Fluff makes it." Hiyori took a seat on the couch, picking her book up from the side table and starting to read.

"I will." Yato responded immediately, taking a turn into the bathroom to put the plush in the dryer.

* * *

"No wan'nit." Neither one of them had thought about whether Yukine would give them a hard time with taking the medicine. He turned his head away from the tablespoon, whining in response to the offered syrup.

"Yukine-kun, it's so you can get better. It doesn't taste bad, it tastes like cherry. Please, at least try it?" Hiyori was trying to be patient, but it didn't seem like Yukine was going to ease up.

"No!" Yukine yelled at her, grabbing his pillow and shoving it over his head. "Mean mama! No wan'nit!" He coughed, which quickly escalated into a fit.

"Yato," Hiyori called out to Yato, hoping he'd help her, "he won't take it."

"Yukine." Yato entered the bedroom, crouching down next to the child's bed. "You can do it the easy way or the hard way. I don't want to make you do it, but you need it so your cough will go away."

"No!" Yukine persisted, the yell muffled from beneath the pillow. It was thick, and had a bad smell to it-thus, he decided, he wasn't going to put it in his mouth.

"I have something for you." Yato's coax seemed to have a desired effect as Yukine sat up, pillow dropping into his lap.

"Wha' is?" Yukine asked with a frown, now that his attention had been diverted.

"You'll find out. If you take your medicine. I know it's something you really want, so will you take the medicine?" Yato kept his tone gentle. "'Cause I won't give it to you if you don't. You have to be a big boy."

"Hnnn..." Yukine whined again, crossing his arms. "Okay…" He'd do it, but he wasn't going to like it.

"Thank goodness." Hiyori breathed a sigh of relief, handing Yukine the measuring spoon.

Yukine took it from her and gave it a hesitant look, before quickly tipping it into his mouth and swallowing it. "Yucky! Ugh!" He shook his head, gagging and sticking his tongue out.

"Ah, I'm so proud of you, though! Such a good boy, Yukine-kun!" Hiyori wrapped her arms around the child, kissing his cheek. "Daddy can go get your surprise, now." She smiled at Yato, and the raven took that as his cue to leave.

"I'll go get it. Sit tight, Yukine." Yato left the room, heading back to the bathroom to pick the dried plush out of the laundry machine. Thankfully-or maybe even miraculously-the toy had been just fine. He walked back to the bedroom, sticking his head inside the doorway. "Okay, close your eyes. And no peeking."

Yukine nodded, closing his eyes. "Wha' is?" He asked again, though Yato didn't respond. Instead he walked over to the bed, placing the plush in Yukine's hands.

"Go ahead and look." Yato backed up and smiled at Hiyori, who took his hand and smiled back.

Opening his eyes, Yukine looked down and gasped. "Fluff!? You finded him! Oh!" He hugged Fluff to his chest, rubbing his cheek against the warm fur. To his own surprise, his vision became blurry and he sniffled, abruptly bursting into tears.

"Yukine-kun, what's wrong?" Hiyori reached out and brushed his tears away, trying to stifle her laugh. She knew exactly why he was crying, but she'd decided to ask anyway.

"I no know! I'm so happy, my eyes are crying!" Yukine managed to respond through his sobs, reaching over to hug her tightly.

"Your mama found him for you, Yukine. I dried him so he's better now, right?" Yato reached over, ruffling the boy's hair.

Yukine sniffed and nodded, reaching over to hug him as well. "Thank you!" He'd been so worried about not having the plush anymore, but he was just fine after all. He was back, and the child had absolutely no intention of letting him go.


	11. A Night To Remember

**Author:** Oooooh guess who's back? Spoiler, it's me. Haha, yeah-sorry this chapter is so late! I ended up having surgery, and I'm mostly healed from that. But it took rewriting this chapter three times before I came up with something to work with! So, I hope ya'll enjoy it.

 **Chapter Eleven: A Night To Remember**

* * *

"Yukine-kun, the books have to go back today." Hiyori reached to pick up the bath pail, filling it with water. "Do you want to pick out some new ones when we go?" Taking a trip to the library was nothing new for their agenda; Yukine loved being read to, and he burned through each selection the same day he brought them home.

"Mhmm!" Yukine bobbed his head in affirmative, leaning back on the stool to look up at Hiyori. "I go get lotsa' books!" He responded. Most of the books he had, Hiyori and Yato read to him. He could read simple words, but Hiyori felt that was more because he'd memorized them than his ability to actually read.

Hiyori laughed, reaching over to tap his nose. "Alright, you." She said in response to his giggling. "Look forwards so I can put in the shampoo, or else it'll get in your eyes, okay?" She squirted some out into her palm, spreading it out into the child's hair and starting to lather it.

"How the babies gonna shower?" Yukine looked down at his wiggling toes, closing his eyes and squealing energetically as water came pouring down over his head. He was never prepared for it, but that's what made it so much fun.

"The babies will get all clean in the bath," Hiyori made sure all the suds were out, using the attached shower hose just to make sure, "they feel safe, in the water. And it will keep them from getting cold." Besides, babies couldn't sit on the bath stool. "You were bathed in the sink, the first few months after Yato...um."

"Daddy?" Yukine blinked, turning around on the stool to look up at Hiyori curiously. "Af'fer wha'?" He asked. Hiyori's words confused him obviously. When she didn't immediately respond, the child frowned. Was something wrong?

"I-I meant to say, back when you were a baby. At the old apartment, Yukine-kun." Hiyori stuttered just slightly, reaching down to wipe a few suds off of the boy's nose with a reassuring smile. "You're all clean, now. Do you want to relax in the bath or go to the library?" She felt better about giving him the choice, just in case.

"I wanna go," Yukine stood up, dragging the stool over to the sink and climbing onto it, "Jus'-jus' af'fer I brush me teef!" He was new to brushing them himself, and he felt rather proud at being able to do so.

"Good job, Yukine-kun!" Hiyori clapped her hands together. "Be very careful! I don't want you to fall. I'll be right back with your clothes." She moved to drape a towel over the boy's shoulders, giving his head an affectionate ruffle as she left the bathroom.

"No way, no way, I gonna brush me teef…" He recalled the song he learned off of Yato's phone about a week earlier, starting to sing slightly off-key as he brushed his teeth. "Bye bye mis'er germ! ...Oh!" The child stopped short, clumsily stepping down from the stool and letting the towel drop as he ran back to his room. "Fluff needs his teef brush!" He ran into the bedroom, yelling until he collided with Hiyori's leg. "Fluff need it too!" He tugged on her skirt, holding his tooth brush up.

"But Fluff doesn't have any teeth, Yukine-kun," Hiyori placed the boy's clothes aside, crouching to take the tooth brush and finish brushing his teeth for him, "but…" she trailed off, smiling. She didn't want to damper the child's imagination, already. "We can go by the store and buy him his own tooth brush, just so yours doesn't get dirty. Does that sound good?" She grabbed his clothes and steered him back to the bathroom, helping him spit the remaining tooth paste out into the sink.

"Uh-huh! He needs, um, the hard kinda brush. So him fur gets all clean!" Even Fluff needed to look his best, sometimes. Especially when going out!

"I agree! It would do him a lot of good." Hiyori laughed. "Now let's get you dressed and we'll go."

* * *

"So, Yato," Kazuma approached the raven while he was on his break, "you're taking Hiyori-chan out to dinner tonight?"

The sudden slide into topic obviously flustered the young man; the blush creeping across his cheeks made sure of that. "W, well-yeah. I kind of am. You mentioned that I hadn't, so I thought it was about time." Yato hadn't exactly discussed it directly with anyone, save for Hiyori.

"Do you know where you'd like to take her?" Kazuma stepped into the room, pulling up a stool to sit was prone to sticking on the cheaper side; and while Kazuma didn't blame him-one had to be frugal, when supporting a family on a single job-a first date with your significant other was important.

"I was thinking of taking her to that Tonki place over on Meguro." Yato gave a simple shrug. "Can't do anywhere too expensive, but their teishoku is pretty good." He could already see the blunt disapproval displayed across his boss's face, and he sighed loudly. "What? You _know_ I can't afford anywhere better." He scowled.

"Then let me pay for it. It's on me, so long as you take proper care of your wife." Kazuma adjusted his glasses. "Viina would have never forgiven me, if I took her to a place like that on our first date. There's this restaurant in the Shiodome city center. I took Viina there for our third anniversary, and I can assure you that it's the best choice. It's a bit pricey, but well worth it."

Yato immediately knew which place Kazuma was talking about. Fish Bank Tokyo; his parents had dined at that same place for their five year anniversary. "Are you _kidding_ me? That place costs more money than I can afford to spend! Why on earth should I let you pay for something like that?" Yato's voice rose, feeling both shocked and above all, ashamed. It wasn't his fault that he couldn't afford it; having a child was expensive enough.

"I'll work it out of you, if you are so inclined to worry." Kazuma had already made up his mind, and there was very little Yato could say that would change his mind. "Do you have anyone available to watch Yukine-kun?"

"I asked Mizuchi to do it," Yato stood up, moving back towards the front counter of the store, "she's already watching Daikoku-san's child, so I thought it'd be fine. Yukine hasn't seen Daigo-kun since they were babies anyway, so maybe they can be friends." It was a shot in the dark, sure-but Yukine was a pretty sociable child and Yato felt they'd get along alright.

"I see. That's a nice idea." There was a hint of reserve in Kazuma's voice as he followed after Yato, patting him on the shoulder. "Fumiha is being adopted day after tomorrow, you know." There was a heaviness to the man's tone. "Viina's grown somewhat attached, even though I advised her not to." When his wife had applied as a foster parent, Kazuma had just known this would happen. "We are expecting two younger twins at the end of the week, so it's for the best that we have room for them."

"Jeez, you have more balls than I do." Yato muttered. "I couldn't handle providing for a kid, only to have them taken from me. I easily got attached to Yukine, and just the possibility of him being gone made me sick." It was laughable, the thought. To think, he had once hated the idea of having kids, and now a little boy was the center of his entire world.

Hiyori too, of course.

* * *

"Mizu'-nee-tan?"

"Yep. She'll be here any minute, and she's bringing Daigo-kun with her. You know Daikoku-san? He's his son. You met him at your first birthday, but you probably don't remember." Yato looked ahead in the mirror, attempting to straighten his tie. "We'll only be gone a few hours, so you don't need to worry."

"Bu', bu' I no _like_ Mizu'-nee," Yukine pouted, "she no play with me." He'd voiced this on many other occasions, where he and Mizuchi had shared the same space. "Why not 'Koku-san?" Daikoku looked a little scary, but he was nice. If his son was coming over, then why couldn't he?

"Daikoku-san is going out with his wife." Yato responded, crouching down to look at Yukine. "Daigo-kun will play with you, so it'll be okay. All Mizuchi-nee-san has to do is make sure you two don't get hurt or into trouble. Can I trust you not to get into trouble?" He reached out, prodding the child in the stomach.

"I no even _do_ nuffin'!" Yukine smacked Yato's hand away, pout deepening into a glare. "I no wan' her here! I fine bein' alone!" He turned and ran out of the bathroom, going straight to Hiyori. "Mama! Mama, daddy makin' Mizu'-nee come here!" He tugged on the hem of her dress, stamping his foot. "I no like her!" The blond child was adamant, clearly expressing his dislike about the arrangement.

"Yukine-kun…" Hiyori'd had a feeling this would happen; she wished that Yato had explained their plans before now. "There isn't anyone else we can ask so suddenly...don't you want to play with Daigo-kun? It won't be so bad." She crouched to his level, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "It's only for a few hours. We'll be back before you know it, and you can tell us all about it if Mizuchi-nee-chan is mean to you." Hiyori was sure it would be fine; as cold as Mizuchi acted, she had never physically harmed the children. She was odd, but not dangerous.

"'Kay…" Yukine huffed, still very much agitated. He sniffed, rubbing his nose on his arm. Neither of his parents were listening, so he'd have to go it alone. ...Unless, of course, he could recruit the help of this 'Daigo' boy.

A knock on the door halted his simple train of thought, and Hiyori smiled. "That's probably her. Be a good boy, okay?" Then she rushed off to answer the door. "Is that you, Mizuchi-chan?" Pulling it open, she was met with a pair of dark brown eyes, which narrowed upon hearing the honorific.

"Please drop the pleasantries, Iki-san. You're only two years older than me." Mizuchi had never been a fan of the girl that her brother had taken as his wife; she was plain, and there were so many better girls out there. Why settle with someone like her? Regardless, her gaze shifted to look into the household. "Where is Yato?"

"Getting ready, Hiiro. Jeez. You can come in, y'know. Make yourself at home. You brought Daigo-kun with you, right?" Yato stepped out from the bathroom, moving to wrap his arms around Hiyori's waist and press a kiss against the side of her neck.

Mizuchi didn't appear phased at all by the show of affection, giving a firm tug from behind her. "I brought him." She stated, ignoring Daigo's whine of protest. She released his wrist and stepped inside, leaving the child at the door. "Where is the other one?" Her gaze swept the front room, a small frown tugging at her lips when her search came up empty.

"He's a little nervous," Hiyori explained, stepping just outside the door, "but he's here. Oh, Yato-are you ready? We should get going." She turned to grab the man's hands, holding them in her own.

"As ready as a guy can be, going on his first date with his wife." Yato smiled nervously, reaching back to rub at the warmth spreading over the back of his neck. He looked down towards Daigo, reaching down to pat his head. "Yukine should be in his room. It's just down at the end of the hall, there-why don't you go say hi?" He spoke softly to the boy, who just nodded and slowly stepped off down the hall. "Alright, Hiiro, we're gone. Call us if anything happens." Yato opened the door a little further, motioning for Hiyori to step out.

"I can handle it." Mizuchi sounded annoyed as she plucked the remote up from the end of the couch. "It's not the first time I have watched children, for your information." Her brother's doubt agitated her, but she refused to show it. Instead she pursed her lips, switching the television on and starting to flip through the channels for something to watch.

Back in the bedroom, the two little boys were having a staring contest. As Yato suspected, Yukine didn't remember this boy at all. "You Daigo-kun?" He finally spoke after what felt like forever, getting up from his bed and walking over to the other boy.

"Yuki-chan." Daigo smiled, obviously familiar with the other boy despite his lack of memory. He pulled the blond in for a hug, patting his back. "Wanna play?" He withdrew, smile still stretched wide across his round face.

"Oh." Yukine blinked, pressing his cheek into his palm as if surprised by the other boy's advance. Then, he grinned back. "Yeah! I gots t'show you, um," he stopped, turning and running back to his bed to grab the ball plush from off his pillow, "this Fluff!" He came back over, presented him proudly.

"Ohhh, he fuzzy!" Daigo reached out to brush his hand over Fluff's soft fur, smiling back. "I have Ji'wou! Him home." Jirou-a stuffed Shiba Inu pup that his dad had gotten him a year before.

"Cool!" Yukine responded enthusiastically, clapping his hands together before grabbing Daigo's hand. "Let's go make tower! I got _lots_ of blocks!" He was sure that, between the both of them, they could make a really high one. He was happy that Daigo agreed to play with him, since he was still pretty mad about his parents leaving him with Mizuchi.

* * *

"Yato, are you sure it was a good idea to choose such an expensive place?" The question had been on the tip of her tongue, even before they were seated. She looked over to menu with a nervous expression, knowing quite well that they wouldn't normally be able to afford to come here. Where had Yato gotten the money?

"Don't worry about it, Hiyori. I'm sure. I just wanted it to be memorable." That wasn't a lie; he wanted Hiyori to be able to look back on this date with fond memories. Kazuma had told him not to tell Hiyori that he'd paid for it; he wanted to remain uninvolved. Still, Yato felt that it was a bitter pill to swallow knowing that he couldn't have taken Hiyori to such a nice place on his own. He'd be working as hard as he could to pay this off, he decided.

"It certainly will be, Yato." As would the bill, most likely. She looked back down towards the menu, feeling decided on what she wanted. "I think I'll get the King Crab with tartar...and mango juice. Ah-make sure you remember that. I have to use the restroom." She knew how to behave in these sorts of places, at least; from a young age, her parents had taken her to dinners hosted by her father's workplace.

Yato made good on his word and ordered their food in Hiyori's absence, taking a sip of his drink while she was gone. Champagne, only because he was old enough. Cyan hues lifted as the young woman returned, and he straightened his posture. An awkward silence drifted between them for quite some time, until Yato cleared his throat. "Hiyori, I-I kind of suck at being romantic, but I want to tell you that I'm glad. Like, I don't think you realize the huge impact you had on me. I didn't know anything about having a kid, or being in a relationship. Yet, you just fit so perfectly in my life. I'm glad that it's you, and not someone else. A-and, if I want to be honest, I've had a crush on you since I first met you."

Hiyori was quiet as she sat back down, folding her hands together as he spoke. To her own surprise she teared up, then laughed. "Yato, you're rambling," she sniffed, dabbing at her eyes with her napkin, "I'm sorry. The twins make me so emotional, I-."

"You don't have to apologize." Yato was quick to interject and reassure her, reaching over to brush his thumb over her hand. "You're beautiful, Hiyori. And it's not just me being enamored with you. You could have chosen to walk away, and get with someone a lot better than me. But, you still chose me. And I'm left-left wondering why. I don't regret it, not for a second. But sometimes I feel like I don't deserve you. Never in my wildest dreams..."

"Nonsense!" Hiyori would have added onto her statement, if not for the waiter coming along with their dinner. She carefully pushed her plate aside once they were alone again, reaching out to cup Yato's cheek. "That's nonsense and you know it." She repeated, softer this time. "If there was anyone I wanted to end up with, it was you. We kind of drifted away after you moved, and...I regret that, if anything. We used to be so close, so to reconnect the way we did...I'm glad." She was happy, being a part of Yato's life. And she knew that even if given the chance for someone better, she wouldn't take it.

"Hiyori, do you really mean that?" Yato couldn't help the warmth that rose to his cheeks. He drew away, clearing his throat as he turned towards the window. The city lights were a bright contrast against the darkened sky, and it was beautiful. Not quite as beautiful as Hiyori, but he was happy that Kazuma had suggested this place. He'd remember it for sure, but he'd remember how Hiyori looked even more. Her hair styled up in curls, the colorful, sleeveless summer dress…

"Yato, you're staring." Hiyori spoke loud enough for him to snap out of his trance; he hadn't even noticed that he'd looked back at her, probably. "You should really save that look for when we're at home." She could feel the heat in her face, and looked down towards her food. How embarrassing… "I said, 'of course I mean it'."

"S-sorry!" Yato looked away as well, and they both fell into a comfortable silence as they ate their dinner. For once, Yato was thankful that he'd reserved a table away from prying eyes. For as beautiful as Hiyori was, he wanted nothing more than to spend the night just with her.

* * *

"Yuki-chan, I'm hung'wy." Daigo spoke up from his place on Yukine's bed, sprawled out on the comforter. They'd finished building up several block towers, and now they were trying to build their own fort. However, it wasn't going as well as planned; neither one of them could tie a knot.

"I kinda am…" Yukine stood on top of his dresser, wobbling unsteadily as he tried to pull the curtain from his window. "I can' gedd'it off." He huffed, turning to climb back down. "Le's go find some'fing to ea'." The blond abandoned the fort idea, and they both padded out of the bedroom. Yukine reached back to grab Daigo's hand, quietly leading him past the living room into the kitchen.

"What are you two doing?" Mizuchi's voice caught onto them immediately, yet the girl didn't move from her spot on the couch. It was suspicious, but not concerning enough to break her concentration from the movie she was watching.

"Geddin' a snack." Yukine responded without much hesitation, and it seemed to be a good enough answer; Mizuchi didn't say anything else after that. "I good a' climbin', so…" Yukine trailed off, going to the fridge. "Wan' cereal?" He turned to look back at Daigo, who nodded. "'Kay, I ge' milk." The carton was all the way on the top shelf, but he was sure he could grab it no problem.

"I get ceweal!" Daigo assigned himself the other task, turning to push the stool over to the cabinet. He stood up on it, reaching up to open the cabinet. He'd safely retrieved the box when a crash sounded, which caused him to jump and fall off the stool. "Ow...ah, Yuki-chan!"

"Just what is going on in here?" Mizuchi had just entered the kitchen to find Yukine pushing himself to sit up, drenched and surrounded by milk and shards of broken glass. "Oh my G-move." She walked over to Yukine and lifted him up under the arms, placing him on his feet a good distance away. "What the hell do you think you were doing? If you wanted something you couldn't reach, you should have told me."

Yukine was visibly trying not to cry, but the shock was over quickly enough that he immediately burst into sobs. The only thing scarier than the dark was when someone was mad at him, and Mizuchi very much was, indicating her annoyed tone. "I sorry!" He wailed, not feeling so much guilty as he was scared.

Daigo had clammed up, but he swallowed and wandered over to Yukine. He patted his shoulder in some small effort to comfort him, looking over to Mizuchi. "'Nee-tan, Yuki-chan hurt!"

Mizuchi looked back to where Daigo was pointing, and swore under her breath at the red liquid dripping from Yukine's hands. "You know-Yukine, _stop crying!"_ It was the first time Mizuchi had ever lost her composure. She didn't know what to do, between trying to clean the mess up and needing to tend to Yukine's injuries. And he wouldn't stop _wailing;_ it was stressing her out even more.

She needed to call Yato.

* * *

They had just finished dessert when Mizuchi called. "We have to wrap it up, Hiyori. That was Mizuchi. Yukine hurt himself, and she's freaking out." Yato was already getting to his feet after ending the call, tugging his keys out of his pocket. "Here, go get the car. I can't drive, so I'll pay and meet you out front."

"Wait, Yato-what happened?" Hiyori took the keys, following after him as he walked to the front of the restaurant. She was worried, and she didn't feel comfortable leaving Yato's side until she knew what had happened.

"I don't know, Hiyori. She was panicking, and just mentioned something about glass-can you _please_ just go get the damn car?" The worry was already seeping out of him in the form of aggression. He didn't mean to snap, and it showed on his face in the form of regret instantly. "...Hiyori, I-,"

"Don't worry about it." Hiyori gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, before disappearing down the chamber towards the lobby. She had no idea what was going on, but just the knowledge that something was wrong with Yukine made her upset. How bad was it? Would he be alright? All these questions and worries circled around her head as she pulled the car up, barely waiting for Yato to close his door before driving off.

* * *

If Yato had thought for a second that Yukine getting his first shot was bad, it was _nothing_ compared to getting the glass out of his hands. He'd had to hold onto him, enduring his kicking and screaming as Hiyori carefully extracted each shard.

In retaliation, Yukine had even bitten his arm-more than once.

"Sorry for the trouble, Hiiro." Yato held Yukine close to him, rubbing his back as he sniffled. "Did you get all the glass cleaned up?" It was two painstaking hours later, and Mizuchi looked tired from her seat next to Daigo. Yato certainly didn't blame her; the mess had been huge, and it hadn't even been her to make it.

"Yes, I did." Mizuchi sighed. "I tried calling the Ebisu's. They never answered." What was she going to do now? She looked down at Daigo, who shrunk away from her stare. Why were these children so _scared_ of her? While it annoyed her, she was also thankful. If they were scared, they would listen.

"We can keep him overnight. It's no trouble, and I'll send a text to Daikoku-san." Hiyori spoke up, carefully wrapping the last bandage around Yukine's finger. "So you can go home now, if you'd like." She pressed a kiss to Yukine's hand, giving his hair an affectionate ruffle. He'd put up quite a fight, but neither her nor Yato had scolded him for it. He'd been in pain, and lashing out was a natural reaction.

However, he _had_ gotten an earful for trying to get the milk by himself.

"I'll just see myself out, then." Mizuchi wouldn't prolong her stay, if she could avoid it. "Please, don't mention this to Father. He'd tease me for a long time if he found out that I lost my composure." She stood up, walking to the front door. "Oh, Yato-that one wears a diaper at night, so you might want to stop by the store." She pointed over at Daigo.

"It's fine," Yato waved at her, "we still have some pull-ups left over from when Yukine was potty training." He was just glad that the child was in his eager to please stage, and had gotten the hang of going in the toilet fairly quickly just before turning three. He caught Mizuchi's nod just before she left, and he turned to look at Hiyori as she started speaking.

"Well, Yato...you can go help Yukine-kun get washed off and into his pajamas." The brunette was trying to plan everything out, since this was not like their usual bedtime routine. "Daigo-kun, would you like to help me make you boys some ramen?" She turned her attention to the quieter child; it was obvious that the cereal endeavor had failed, so they both had to still be hungry.

"Uh-huh." Daigo nodded, slipping off from the couch and walking over to Hiyori's side. He peered up at her shyly, stepping up on his tip-toes. "How we make it?" He'd never really helped cook anything, another thing that was becoming apparent.

"Well, come with me and we'll do it together." Hiyori smiled, inviting him into the kitchen after herself. "First, I'll put on some water to get hot, then we'll put in the noodles and ingredients to steam." She didn't mind relaying the information as she went; Daigo was clearly a curious child, and she had enough patience to answer most of his questions.

* * *

"Goodnight, you two." Both Hiyori and Yato were satisfied to know that the boys went down easily, and it only took one story for them to settle in. Hiyori went to the doorway where Yato was waiting, turning the light setting to off and steering her husband out of the room and down the hall. "We should get to sleep, too. You have work in the morning, and I'll have to get a hold of Kofuku-san." They were usually very responsible parents, so she couldn't help but wonder if something had gone wrong.

"They probably just lost track of time at the pachinko parlor. Wouldn't be the first time." Yato rolled his eyes, but followed Hiyori back to the bedroom. "Just make sure the kids don't try to hurt themselves in the morning… having two young children is a lot more trouble than one." They would learn just how true that statement was, once the twins came along; Yato was sure of it. But he had Hiyori, and she was enough to get him through anything.

"Mm, Yato." Hiyori wrapped her arms around him, pressing a kiss against his chin before moving away to undress. "I know that look. But not tonight. Not while somebody else's child is here." She just didn't feel right about it, no matter how much she desired that type of closeness. "Tomorrow night." She promised, moving to the dresser to pick out her pajamas.

"That's cruel, Hiyori." Yato placed a hand on his chest, over his heart and squeezed. "Teasing me like that! ...What if we're quiet?" The question was met with a pillow being launched at his face, and he laughed. Alright, so that was definitely a 'no'. Even still…

Damn. He loved her so much.


	12. You Are My Home

**Author:** Guess who is finally updating? Right! It's me. I deeply apologize I didn't have this update out sooner. My motivation for it kind of plummeted, but things came easily for me today and I decided to give it a shot! The next chapter WILL be out in a few days, which is a promise considering I know how this particular part will happen. Until then, please enjoy the chapter!

 **Chapter Twelve: You Are My Home**

* * *

"First I'm going to teach you the way to breathe for coordinated breathing and pushing, and then second we'll just kind of segue into the positions that your partner will want to know when he-,"

The lesson came to a grinding halt as the door slid open, a raven haired male bursting into the room and panting heavily. "I'm late! Sorry, sorry. Continue." Yato had pretty much run the couple of blocks to the building from work, and he was desperately trying to level his breathing as he walked to the back of the room to sit behind Hiyori.

"Ew, you're all sweaty. Did you not drive here?" Hiyori turned subtly to peer up at her husband. Now she regretted not having gone by his workplace and picking him up.

"Nah, running's good for me." Yato kept his voice low, a few octaves quieter than the instructor's. "Where is Yukine? Didn't you bring him with you?" Unless she'd found a babysitter, of course.

"I brought him," Hiyori affirmed as she spoke back, "there's a room on the west wing that operates as a daycare for parents that bring their children with them. I dropped him off there before I got here."

"Ahem. Mr. and Mrs. Iki, if you are quite finished, the class is starting." The instructor cleared her throat, aiming a well-intended glare at the couple. They might have known each other, but they would not be excluded from punishment for causing disruption during the lesson.

"Ah-sorry, Mayu-san." Hiyori flashed a guilty smile, looking back and reaching up to pat Yato's cheek affectionately. They would talk when they had the chance, but for now, it'd be more worthwhile to pay attention.

"Very good. Now then, as I was previously explaining…"

* * *

"Manabu-kun, this kid was tryin'na steal your animal crackers!"

Yukine was being held up by the back of his shirt by an older child, flashing a grin at the boy who he had _definitely_ stolen the animal crackers from. "I only taked the tiger! Honest." He crossed his arms as he hung there, and Manabu scrunched his nose.

"Let him go, Seki-chi. I don' care about the crackers." The dark headed boy huffed and went back to stacking plastic cars, one on top of the other carefully so that they wouldn't fall.

"Hmph." The tattling child lowered Yukine down, clearly not happy that Manabu didn't want to punish the younger boy.

Sadly, Yukine didn't get that long of a break before he was scooped back up again; this time by a girl who moved him to sit on her hip. He immediately recognized her as Kiyoko, Miss Mayu's daughter. "Yuki-chan, me and Miyu-chan are playin' house! Be the baby, please?"

"I not a baby! I three." Yukine held up four fingers and glared, which only resulted in the other girl-Miyu-coming over. She giggled and re-adjusting his fingers, so that only three were raised.

 _"That's_ three. But are you _really?"_ She poked his cheek. "You're so little for three. You're the same size as my baby brother! He just turned two." Miyu took Yukine from her friend, placing him back down. "I'll give you a candy if you play with us." She extended a lollipop, and Yukine stared at it.

"...'kay…" It was hard to turn down the offer of candy, so playing for a little while couldn't hurt, he decided.

This was where Hiyori and Yato found him a half hour later, swaddled in a blanket and tucked into a wooden doll cradle with the two girls hovering over him. "I too _big_ for dis…" He was huffing miserably, and Hiyori giggled to herself from Yato's side.

"Sorry, girls! The baby has to go, now." She walked over with Yato, simply smiling sadly at the twin choruses of disapproval.

"Kiyoko-chan, your mother told me to tell you that she left your lunch in her office. You can ask the assistant to get it for you when you get hungry." Yato spoke as he lifted Yukine out of the wooden structure, followed by an immediate sigh of relief from the blond boy. Dropping the blanket back into the cradle, he gave Hiyori a sideways glance. "I'll take Yukine back with me today. Kazuma would like to see him, and I know you need the peace and quiet."

It was true; the further Hiyori advanced in her pregnancy, the more difficult it was handling day-to-day stress that Yukine was unintentionally causing. She didn't blame him, of course. Being a young child, he had no inkling of understanding how his actions affected other people. "If you're sure, Yato...I wouldn't want him causing a fuss in your workplace." She couldn't help but express her concern, which Yato eased away by tenderly tucking her hair back and pressing a kiss against her forehead.

"I'm more than sure, Hiyori. I'm capable, aren't I? Now, head home and get some rest. Kazuma has an office that Yukine can nap in, if he gets cranky."

"I big, so I no need nap." Yukine crossed his arms in Yato's hold, glaring at him. "No more naps!" He declared.

"We'll see about that, 'big man'." Yukine could get pretty aggressive during the day, so Yato was sure that he'd be taking naps for at least a couple more years. "See you back at home, Hiyori. Say bye bye to mama, Yukine."

"Hmph." Yukine scrunched his face, turning away. Yato looked at Hiyori and shrugged, before turning to walk towards the door. In response to this, Yukine froze and leaned over Yato's shoulder.

"Mama! I sorry! Bye bye!" The boy blew her a kiss to show his sincerity, and Hiyori smiled in response and waved as the two departed.

"Bye, Yukine-kun! Be good for daddy!"

* * *

"Ah-Yato, you're back. Hello there, Yukine-kun." Kazuma greeted Yukine as the pair entered, and Yukine froze. Like a deer caught in the headlights, he inched his way behind Yato's leg and wrapped his arms around him, hiding his face.

"Ah-ah, Yukine. Be polite. There's nothing to be scared of. I'm here, aren't I?" Yato turned and lifted him up, securing him in his hold. "You remember Kazuma-san, right? He found you when you left home that one time."

"No!" Yukine whined, turning to hide his face. "Scary…"

Kazuma's expression turned to one of regret.

"Yato...we didn't meet in the best of circumstances. I didn't tell you, but I...I saw Yukine-kun a bit later than I should have. I was able to stop the car before any real damage happened, but it was very close." The bespectacled man pushed his glasses up with a resigned sigh. "It's very likely that it scared him. And as a result, that fear might be of me, as well."

"Y...you almost _hit_ him?" The color drained from Yato's face, and Kazuma was quick to assure him it was purely accidental.

"Not on purpose! He was passing right as I turned the corner. I could only see the top of his head as it was. But I…" He trailed off, slowly moving out from behind the counter. "I'm sorry, Yukine-kun. It was never my intention to scare or hurt you. Can you forgive me? I'd like to be your friend."

Yukine sniffed, slowly turning to peek at Kazuma. "Um…" He weighed the decision, silent contemplation stretching for almost a full minute. "O-okay...frien'." He reached out, and Kazuma smiled as he reached to shake the boy's hand.

 _"Jeez,_ Kazuma…" Yato heaved a sigh of his own. "Maybe it's good you waited to tell me. But I still feel like beating your ass. If you weren't my boss, and if I didn't need the money…" He left the words hanging. He knew Kazuma wouldn't take it as a real threat.

"Regarding that," Kazuma's tone had shifted, usually to the one he used when treating Yato as an employee, "I am hereby giving you a month's notice. I'm letting you go."

"Wait, _what!?_ Kazuma, you can't be se-,"

"Allow me to finish, Iki-san." Kazuma lifted a hand. "It is not out of any ill intent. Far from it, to be concise. You need a bigger salary than I can fairly provide you, working here, and I acknowledge that. I've arranged for your resume to be sent to a parent company above this one, owned by Viina's father. He is an older gentleman, but should you work efficiently, he will pay you three times the amount of what I do, now. He recently promoted his assistant, and is seeking a new one. I confidently feel that this job will be easy enough for you. He is also willing to commission you handsomely for personalized art to hang around his building. Should it sell, you will receive a generous cut of the profit, as well."

"You...you arranged this without telling me…" Yato was quiet, but the inflection in his voice had changed to disbelief. "But seriously, I could...I could _kiss_ you right now. Are you for real? You're not pulling my leg, right?" His current salary wasn't that small by any means, but three times that, and hefty commission pricing on top of that?

 _Was he_ ** _dreaming?_**

"I'd rather that orifice of yours remained faithful for it's god-given purpose, if you don't mind." Kazuma was rather blunt in relaying his feelings regarding Yato's offer. "But rest assured, this is very much real and not a joke. We're friends, Yato. We've been through alot together. With everything you did for me back in my darkest times, this is the least I can do for you. You're...my benefactor, in a way. So, should you accept this offer, you will receive an application form in the mail in about a week. Michizane-san is quite flexible, so I feel he would be happy to accommodate you in certain familial emergencies, should they arise." His stone facade cracked, simply to give a knowing smile to Yukine.

The boy in question had no idea what the pair were talking about, and he wiggled restlessly. "Wan' down, daddy." He patted Yato's cheek, bringing the young man out of his trance.

"Huh? Oh...sorry, Yukine. Here." He placed the child down, and turned his attention back to Kazuma. "I could pay off my debt to Masaomi...I wouldn't have to worry about providing for the twins, either. Kazuma...I don't even know how to express my gratitude."

"Well, you can start by getting back to work." Kazuma stepped back. "Since it is not my job to sit out here and assist you, I will be-...just as I suspected!" He turned away from Yato, speeding across the shop to tower over Yukine. "What you have there is quite expensive, Yukine-kun. It'd be most advised that you return it to where you found it at once..."

Yukine frowned and tilted his head back, staring up at Kazuma as he clutched a decorative sea globe in his hands. "I wan' dis…" He admitted, looking back down towards the globe.

"Tell me. Do you ask for much, Yukine-kun?" Kazuma crouched down, placing his hand on top of Yukine's soft, blond head. "I don't hear many stories of you asking for things, so I will make you a deal. If you behave and don't cause any trouble today, I will let you take it home with you. Until the end of the day, though, you are not to touch it. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

At three, Yukine was old enough to start learning self restraint, and how to truly earn his rewards.

"Mm!" Yukine nodded happily. "I do it!" He carefully returned the globe to it's resting place, turning so he could hug Kazuma tightly. "Thank'oo!"

The reaction came unexpectedly, but Kazuma smiled nevertheless. "Right! Well, now. Your father has to get back to work, so you will be coming to spend that time with me until his shift ends. I have children of my own, so there are a few different toys stocked up that you are welcome to play with." Unlike Yato or Hiyori, Kazuma didn't do very well with baby talk; something that his wife did not care too much for. But he was kind and patient, and did what he could to cater to the developing minds of children.

Taking Yukine's hand, Kazuma lead him to his office in the back of the shop. "That bin over there is the one that holds the toys. I'll be right here, so you may ask questions should you need to." The bespectacled man took a seat behind his desk, cracking his knuckles before starting to type.

Yukine stalled. Peering into the toy bin, he found a simple puzzle. It proved to be too easy for him to complete, and soon he found himself getting...well, quite _bored_.

"Wha' doin'?" Hawthorn colored irises peeked over the desk, the child on the tips of his toes as he looked up towards the computer screen.

"Me? I'm documenting sales tax for our shop," a few clicks resounded, "but for you, I will say it in a way you can understand: I'm working."

"Oh."

An awkward silence befell the pair, mostly on Kazuma's end. Yukine's curiosity was about as subtle as a freight train, to say the least. He yawned, unintentionally ignoring the imploring gaze as he brought up a webpage to skim his email.

"Tired?" The small voice sounded, still at his side.

"A bit. We recently adopted twins. They are having trouble settling in, so they aren't sleeping well. As such, neither am I." It was simply part of being a parent. He'd seen Yato come in with the zombified gaze plenty of times before, as well.

"Then we need nap."

"A nap?" Kazuma turned to peer down at the boy. "Oh, no-not hardly. Adults don't take naps."

* * *

Two grueling hours later, Yato entered the office after sending the last customer home for the day. "Kazuma-san, my shift is-," His words were immediately clipped at the sight that awaited him upon entry. Kazuma was sprawled out on the couch, feet propped up on the armrest and a book draped over his face. Yukine was also sprawled out, starfished on his tummy right up against the crook of Kazuma's neck. "Sheesh, you two…" He didn't particularly want to rouse either of them, but he couldn't leave them as they were, either.

"If you're coming in, make yourself useful and grab my wallet out of my front right blazer pocket." Kazuma kept his voice low, carefully lifting the book off of his face. "Yukine-kun." He sat up with the boy and yawned, gently rocking the child from side to side to wake him up. "You did as I said, so you may have the globe."

"What, you're really gonna buy it for him?" Yato paused, blinking owlishly as he picked the man's wallet out.

"I am. I always keep my word, as a respectful salesman. Yukine-kun did very well in not demanding it, or whining for it. He also asked permission before touching things that were not included in what I told him that he could play with." Adjusting his glasses firmly to the bridge of his nose, he slid Yukine down to stand on his feet. "He'll be an excellent employee, one day. I might even hire him, once he reaches the legal working age."

"You're not turning my boy into a child labor slave, four eyes." Yato spoke pointedly as he removed the correct amount of money from the man's wallet. "I'm off the clock, now. I can talk to you as I please."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Yato. Say hello to the in-laws for me." A lazy smile curled over the brunet's face, and Yato froze.

"...Shit. I completely forgot about that." He groaned quietly, looking down at the sudden weight that engulfed his legs. "Yukine, we're going to grandma and grandpa Iki's when we get out of here. We have to go pick mama up."

"I know…" Yukine yawned as Yato picked him up, rubbing at his eyes and curling his arms around Yato's neck. "Bye bye, Kashuma-tan." He waved towards the other man, and Kazuma nodded from his spot.

"Was a pleasure getting to know you, Yukine-kun. You and your father may drop by my place any time you'd like."

* * *

"Yato, I've been waiting for fifteen minutes. Did something happen?" Hiyori slipped into the passenger seat, grabbing her seatbelt and clicking it into place before Yato could pull out of the drive way.

"Not really. Got held up by the boss, and Yukine-," Yato's explanation was cut short by an excited squeal from the back seat.

"Mama, look what I gots!" The child held the globe up, the brightly painted background a stark contrast against the bleached sand and multi-colored shells. "Pretty?"

"Oh, I see!" Hiyori gushed enthusiastically, peering at the globe from the rearview mirror. "It's very pretty, Yukine-kun! You'll have to show it to grandma and grandpa too, okay? We'll put it up in your room when we get back home."

"It, um...it not for me." Yukine admitted quietly, lips pursing as he looked down.

"It's not?" Hiyori blinked, and even Yato shared an equally confused look with her.

"Who's it for, then, Yukine? Did you meet a girl you liked at the play center this morning?" Yato was half teasing, but Yukine quickly shook his head no. "Then who-?"

A cheery tune sounded from inside Hiyori's purse, bringing the conversation to a close as the girl answered her phone. "Yeah, mom? No, he was late getting out of work. Yes, we're headed there now. ...Oh, _honestly!_ I'm not avoiding _either_ of you. Things have just been busy. ...What? He's so dramatic, I swear! We're coming. He can't change his mind. We have something important to discuss, anyway. ...Yes, I know. I love you too. Be there in a few minutes."

Hiyori ended the call and sighed exasperatedly. "My father thinks we've been avoiding them for ulterior reasons…" The girl sighed. "He was so worried about Masaomi leaving when he did, that he takes me not coming over for a couple months as me not wanting to see them."

"Hiyori…" Yato's tone was soft, but the seriousness carried an edge of concern. "I'm worried. I don't want them blaming you for anything. It makes me feel sick that they possibly could. Your family is pretty wealthy, and I...I'm _me._ I'm nobody. I was lucky just to graduate high school..."

"I understand your concern, Yato. But please...don't talk about yourself like that. Especially not in front of Yukine-kun. You _are_ someone, now. You're my husband, you're Yukine's father...and the father of **_our_** children." She spoke, resting a hand against the swell of her abdomen. "Not only that, but you do so much for us because you _care_. You're… **_everything_** to me, Yato. I'm not happy unless you're here with me. Whatever happens, we'll brave through it, together."

The raven didn't respond immediately, but his knuckles had turned white against the steering wheel. _"Fuck,_ Hiyori...what'd I do to deserve you?" She was so, _so_ lovely, and compassionate, and she held herself together so _gracefully_ even in her current state-.

And it was taking everything that he had inside of himself not to _cry_.

"Daddy, we here."

Yukine's voice snapped Yato back into focus, and he nodded. "A-alright. Roger that, Yukine." He parked the car, getting out to unbuckle the child from his car seat. "Be careful with your globe, and don't drop it."

"I know!" Yukine responded smartly as Yato circled around to open Hiyori's door for her. "I can' led'dit get broked!" That was something he wouldn't allow to happen, no matter what. He'd keep it safe…

"Come on in, you two." Masaomi greeted them as they came up the walkway, stepping back as they came in. "Hiyori, please give them some kind of warning...mother is going to faint. They're both in the kitchen, right now."

"I know." Hiyori spoke back quietly, looking back to Yato and Yukine. "Yato, you can put Yukine-kun down so he can go show off his globe to my parents. We have to think of a way to approach this carefully..."

"Alright. Go show 'em, Yukine." They'd be stalled for at least a few minutes-so this was a good time as ever to plan how to bring it up.

"Gamma, gan'pa! Look wha' I gots!" Yukine practically skidded into the kitchen, barreling into Takamasa's leg at the last second. He held fast to the sea globe, cradling it to his chest to prevent himself from dropping it.

"Oh? What's this, Yukine-kun?" Takamasa crouched to get a better look at the globe, carefully taking it from the child and ruffling his hair. "Would you look at this, honey? I've never seen anything like it."

"Ah, how pretty, Yukine dear!" Sayuri gushed, before motioning for her husband to return it to the child. "Are you going to put it next to all of the nice books I got you?" She spoke to the boy, and Takamasa left the two to talk as he moved to set the table.

"Nuh-uh! It not for _me_." Yukine shook his head, a wide smile on his face.

"Is that right? Well then, who is it for? Hiyori-chan?" Sayuri turned the stove off, and she was quite glad she did, considering the child's next response.

"Nope! It for the babies in her tummy!"


	13. Moving Onwards

**Author:** Mmmmhm! A quick update for you guys! I was nice enough not to leave it on a cliffhanger. :D Hope you enjoy!

 **Chapter Thirteen: Moving Onwards**

* * *

"S-Sayuri!"

Takamasa tripped over one of the kitchen chairs to get to the woman in time, catching her just as she swooned back. "N-now honey, just calm do-,"

"Calm down!? Did you hear what he just _said,_ Takamasa!?" Sayuri's tone had immediately elevated into anger, and she smacked her husband's hand away as he tried to fan her off.

"I-I…" Yukine's voice trembled as he took a few steps back, eyes welling up. He didn't understand what he did, but clearly, the two adults were now upset. What had he-?

"Yukine!" Yato rushed into the kitchen, stopping short at the scene. Uh oh...

The sudden shout scared Yukine, causing him to drop the globe and burst into tears. It hit the ground and shattered, sand and shells spilling out everywhere. "I-I, I sorry!" He wailed, clutching onto the hem of his shirt. It was broken, and now he couldn't give it to the babies… he'd also upset grandma and grandpa, and he didn't understand _why_. He turned and ran out of the kitchen, his disappearance soon being followed by the slamming of a door.

"Yato-kun, what's the meaning of this?" Takamasa helped his wife stand, who immediately zoned in on the young man.

"What the hell is going on? Yukine-kun just said Hiyori was pregnant!"

"Sayuri." Takamasa's tone turned into warning, and he wrapped his arms around his wife. "Losing your temper won't do a single good thing, and you know it. Please, let's hear what they have to say. Yato-kun, please go to the sitting room with Hiyori. We will discuss this in a moment."

* * *

For once, Hiyori was glad that her father was a doctor. Being such meant he could maintain a cool head in stressful situations, and that included right now.

"Masaomi, how could you have kept this from us? Hiyori, how could you have been so irresponsible? I...I was so sure that me and your father had raised you right."

"Mother, it's because of this that they didn't tell either of you. How you're losing your temper right now? You're too emotional! They were going to tell you tonight, but...Yukine-kun didn't know that it was a secret." Masaomi sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. "And now you've scared him so much, he won't come out of the bathroom." He left from his spot, leaving the group to discuss the issue alone. Besides...he had to go comfort the kid, since no one else could.

"Didn't you two use protection?" Takamasa spoke next, interjecting whatever his wife wanted to follow up with.

"We didn't." Yato admitted. "Please, Mr. and Mrs. Iki...don't blame Hiyori for this. It just happened, and I admit that it was a stupid mistake. But, believe me-I'll take care of her. I made that promise when I married your daughter. She didn't want to give the babies up, and...neither did I. But you know, I stepped up to take care of Yukine. So I understand what I'm getting into."

"You don't have enough money to raise this big of a family, Yato-kun." Takamasa's tone was blunt, and Hiyori gripped Yato's hand. She couldn't bring herself to even look up, and she didn't even know how they would ask for their help, with them being this angry.

"You were supposed to go to school, Hiyori! How are you going to do that now?" Sayuri placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders, brushing her hair back. "Could you truly manage being a mother of three children, on top of going to school? I love you. But taking care of two children was a challenge for both me and your father..."

"We're not here to ask for money. Only your support, Mr. and Mrs. Iki. We decided to keep the babies, and...my boss is having me transferred to a new job that will pay me enough money to take care of my family. I would _never_ abandon Hiyori. I swear on my life."

"I'm holding it to you." Sayuri's tone darkened, regarding Yato with a cold stare. "If you **_ever_** do anything to hurt my daughter, besides this mess you have already burdened her with, I swear I will-,"

"Mother!" Hiyori stood up suddenly, not being able to control her own anger. "This is _not_ a burden to me! I _love_ Yato, and nothing makes me happier than knowing that we're creating a family and a future together. I know I'm still young, so I understand your concern. You can be angry, I accept that! But I'm an adult, and this is my choice! You can't pin all your anger on him when we _both_ screwed up. I'm not free of the blame here!" She was absolutely seething, but she couldn't help herself. "Now you can either accept it, or I swear, Yato and I will leave and you will _never_ see me again, _nor_ will you see your future grandchildren!"

Yato's eyes widened at the outburst and he got to his feet immediately, wrapping his arms around the girl. "Shhh…it's okay, Hiyori." This was only causing her stress, and it was dangerous. Takamasa must have realized it too, for he took his wife's hand and silently pulled her back to the kitchen.

"I'm so sorry, Yato," Hiyori started to cry, turning to hide her face in his neck, "I n-never meant for them to blame you!"

"I know. It's not their fault, Hiyori...and neither is it yours. Just cry it out if you have to." He kept his voice quiet, reaching to rub circles into her back as she bawled. Several minutes passed until Sayuri and Takamasa returned, the former of the two dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.

"Hiyori, I'm sorry...I didn't mean it. I'm just-I'm so _worried…_ " Sayuri went straight to the pair, hugging them both. "And I'm sorry to you, too, Yato-kun. I lost my composure. But when your own children grow up, you will understand. You two aren't that old...you're still my baby, Hiyori. I...me and your father will do everything we can to support you through this. I promise."

"I hope so, mother." Masaomi came back to the front room, holding Yukine against him and brushing his fingers through his hair. "He's really upset about the globe breaking. I've calmed him down for the most part, but please assure him that you didn't mean to yell at him, Yato."

"Ahh...Yukine." Yato carefully pulled himself out of the embrace, getting to his feet so he could take the child from Masaomi. "I'm sorry, buddy." He could feel how tense Yukine was, and he knew he was upset with him; he was refusing to look at him. "I didn't mean to yell at you, Yukine...I had no idea how important that globe was to you. But we'll take care of it, okay? I'll go to Uncle Kazuma, and I'll buy another one for the twins." It was the least he could do, considering the child had done everything he could to keep it safe despite the outcome.

"I gots you an' mama in t'wouble…" Yukine hiccuped and rubbed at his eyes, sniffling.

"It wasn't you, Yukine. You didn't know we hadn't told them." In hindsight, though…Yato had to admit that he regretted it, now.

"Let's just put this behind us." Takamasa pulled Sayuri back to his side, embracing her reassuringly. "I think the perfect solution is a warm meal and a cold beer."

"I'm up for that!" Yato pepped up, grinning cheerfully. Whenever beer was offered, he could never quite refuse. "Y'got the good stuff?"

"Haha, you bet'cha! That's my son-in-law for you! C'mere, Yato-kun. You fit right in, no doubt about it!" Takamasa grinned back, reaching over to clap him on the back. "You, me, Masaomi-I got a few beers stashed in the cooler out back. We can go help ourselves!"

"Oh, dear…" Sayuri shook her head at all of them, walking over to take Yukine from Yato. "Come along then, Yukine-kun, Hiyori dear. You two can help me make the dessert while we leave the boys to their alcohol."

* * *

"Yukine-kun, come here so we can get your jammies on." Hiyori had not been the least bit surprised that Yato had been absolutely _plastered_ by the time they had to leave. She'd taken it upon herself to get them all home, but sending Yato straight to bed had been a little troublesome.

"Tire…" Yukine yawned, climbing onto his bed and pulling his shirt off. "Can you get the bud'don?" He wiggled his toes, before reaching over to grab Fluff from off his pillow.

"Mm, of course, baby." Hiyori placed the pajamas down, moving to help him get out of his pants. "The alligator ones are okay, right?"

"Mhm!" Yukine nodded, then giggled. "I like the al'gader one." He responded.

"I'm glad." Hiyori smiled, unfolding the shirt and pulling it over the boy's head. "Listen, Yukine-kun...you know grandma loves you, right? She was just mad at mama and daddy. Not you."

"I know." Yukine responded after a moment's hesitation, stepping into his shorts and letting her pull them up. He picked the comb up off of his side table, starting to brush Fluff's fur. "Why her mad?" He questioned, looking up at her while he brushed.

"That's because...well, I'm still very young, Yukine-kun. Most mommies have babies after they've been out of school for a while." She explained. "But I got out of school very recently, you know."

"Um," Yukine frowned, carefully placing the comb down, "here, come here." He patted the spot next to him, sitting up on his knees after she sat down. "Why not, um..why can' the babies jus' come la'der?" He whispered into her ear, causing her to giggle.

"That tickles." She wrapped her arms around Yukine, laying down with him and pulling the covers over them both. "But that's because, the babies are already growing. Just like you can't stop a flower from growing, the babies can't stop, either. They're already here."

"Hm." Yukine hummed, wiggling out of her hold and scooting down under the blanket to press his ear against her stomach. "They sleepin'?" He asked, peering back up at Hiyori as she moved the blanket away.

"Uh-huh. They need lots of rest, so they can grow bigger. And once they're big enough, they'll come out of my tummy. Me and daddy will be very busy though...babies need a lot of care and attention." She didn't want him to be discouraged, though.

"How they gonna come out?" Yukine's curiosity was quite the force to be reckoned with, and Hiyori found herself stalling.

"Well, um...how do you think they'll come out, Yukine-kun?" She hoped that he had an idea that she could work with…

"I knows how!" He said excitedly, sitting up. "A flower gonna come ou' here," he explained, lifting up her shirt to poke at her belly button, "an'ey come out the flower when it opens! They growed 'nough to come ou' dere. Yeah." He nodded to himself, prompting a laugh from Hiyori.

"Goodness, you're so smart, Yukine-kun." He had such an active imagination, and she didn't want to tell him that he was wrong. Not in the least! She pulled him back up for a hug, kissing his cheek. "Alright. It's time for bed, so you get comfy and I'll go make sure daddy got to sleep okay." She carefully maneuvered to stand, being sure to tuck Yukine in nice and tight. "Sweet dreams, Yukine-kun. I'll see you in the morning." She turned the nightlight on and dimmed the headlight, leaving the door ajar before going back to the room she and Yato shared.

"He shleepin'?" Yato was still awake when she entered, though _clearly_ still drunk.

"Not yet, I just got him to bed." Hiyori responded, trying to still her heart from the unexpected voice. "I would have expected you to be asleep, Yato. You usually get very tired when you're this drunk." She changed into one of her nightgowns, before sliding into the bed next to him.

"I was waitin' for yah." The raven mumbled tiredly, scooting closer to her and pressing a small kiss against her jaw. "Are you tha' tired?" He kept his voice barely above a whisper, hand moving down so that he could trace shapes against her stomach with his fingers.

"Not really. I rested more today than I usually do." She reached down and grabbed his hand, which was daring to move lower. Lifting his fingers to her lips, she pressed a kiss against his knuckles. "You're not being very subtle, are you?" She smiled, leaning over to kiss him on the lips. "Augh, your breath smells." She complained, scrunching her nose.

"Is that a yes or a no? Y'can say no if you don't wanna...I'll ge' over it." He may have been drunk, but he still knew not to make any unwanted advances.

"I'm not saying no. We can, but on my conditions. You're drunk, so you're not gonna be the one on top, if that's what you're hoping for." She didn't think it'd be a problem; Yato usually complied, in these situations.

"Yeah, I'm-I know. Jus' gotta be quie' so Yukine dun't wake up."

"Yep. If he does, _I_ won't be the one explaining things."

* * *

"Kazuma, do we have anymore of those globe things? I kinda startled Yukine and he dropped it..." Yato had decided to drop by the shop late the next morning after recovering from the killer hangover-even if it _was_ technically his day off.

"What? _Already?"_ Kazuma sighed. "That was so much money...maybe we shouldn't be allowing him to have such things at this age." He rested his cheek in his palm, a small frown tugging at his lips.

"No, I mean-he didn't even...he didn't even get it for himself. He got it as a present for the twins." Normally, he'd be agreeing with Kazuma; but the boy had had his heart set on it, it seemed.

"I see. Anyway, I can't help you. Yukine bought the last one in stock, and they're imported from America. It's not like I can just have it shipped over. ...Maybe you can try the internet? Or...huh. Hold on." Kazuma turned, walking into the back room of of the shop.

Yato stayed where he was, not entirely sure what Kazuma went to go check out. His answer came minutes later when the man returned, carrying a glass sphere.

"This is the top to a snow globe kit we had in the back. While it's not the same, you can pick up some shells and sand and secure it to a felt base. You're an artist, aren't you? Pick up some acrylics and paint the background yourself. Or, you could even let Yukine-kun help. I'm sure he'll like it even more if he has a hand in making it."

"Oi, Kazuma! That's a great idea! Man, I really owe you one…"

"Nonsense." The bespectacled man handed him the glass sphere. "I wouldn't be standing here today, if not for you, so I'll gladly do what I can to help. ...However, that'll be 2300 _yen_. Pay up."

"Sheesh...but, that's fair." Yato just smiled, setting the globe down to fish for his wallet. "Take care, Kazuma. Call me if things get too overwhelming, and I'll come back to help." It may have been his day off, but he knew how much Kazuma hated doing the front counter job. He handed him the correct amount and picked up the globe, tucking it under his arm.

"Say hello to Yukine-kun and Hiyori-chan for me." Kazuma waved him off, crossing his arms once Yato was out of the shop. "Sure will be quiet without him around…"

* * *

"Ohhh!" Yukine peered into the glass globe, bouncing up and down on his toes eagerly as Yato hot-glued the fitted felt onto the bottom of it. "Are we gonna color it!?"

"That's the idea, Yukine." Yato grinned, carefully tipping the globe back over so the sand and shells settled at the bottom. "Very cool selection of shells, Yukine. It looks great." He praised the child, moving to open up the acrylic paint.

"Uh huh!" Yukine nodded, climbing up to sit on the kotatsu. "I wanna put blue on it! An' a sun, an'..."

"Gettin' ahead of yourself there, tiger. Although...hey, give me your hand for a sec'." Yato flipped open the caps on three of the paints, specifically the red, orange, and yellow.

"...You gonna putted it on my han'?" Yukine questioned, but held his hand out nonetheless.

"Well, Uncle Kazuma _did_ say it would be nice if you had a hand in it." Yato picked up his paint brush, starting to layer the colors on the boy's hand. "We gotta move quick though. This paint isn't really made to have on your skin, but it'll be fine for just a minute. Press your hand against the back of the globe after I'm done."

Yukine giggled at the contact of the brush, covering his mouth with his free hand. "'Kay, daddy." He moved closer, carefully pressing his hand against the glass once the paint was on. He pulled away after a few seconds and squealed, bouncing up and down gleefully. "Looook! It my han'!" He found it beyond cool, actually.

"Yep! Mega cool. We'll let that dry, and add the blue around it later." Yato stood up and picked Yukine up under his arms, carrying him to the kitchen. "But now, we gotta clean the paint off. Have you decided what you want to make mama for breakfast?" He turned the faucet on for him, letting him grab the soap and lather his hands up. It was almost noon, but Hiyori'd worn herself out, he guessed...ah.

"No...dey clean." Yukine puffed his cheeks out, staring up at Yato. "Daaaaddy." He drew the word out, squirming in his hold.

"Huh? Oh. Sorry, Yukine. All clean?" He double checked the boy's hand, before carefully setting him down. "How about we make rice and eggs with the leftover _natto?_ That's pretty simple." Yukine had taken to _natto_ pretty easily, so he was grateful for that. Some kids just wouldn't eat the stuff.

"Yeah." Yukine nodded, going over to the pantry to pull out the bag of rice. "Can we has bananas an' juice, too?" He carried the bag over to Yato and held it up, watching as he took it and poured some into the rice cooker.

"Yep. As long as you eat some of the egg rice, too. ...I guess you can go ahead and wake mama up. Just be mindful of the twins." He set the rice to cook, heading back out to assemble the other colors they were going to use. He'd just gotten them out when his phone sounded, and he moved to the other end of the couch to grab it. "Hello?"

"Ah, hello there. Is this Seki-san? I'm Mr. Urasawa from the human services department?" The vaguely familiar voice came from the other end, and Yato withheld a sigh.

"Yeah, you got me. But actually, it's Iki now. Just got married a couple months ago. What can I help you with?"

 _"Is that so? I apologize, Iki-san. The reason I'm calling you today is because I was contacted by Yukine's biological father. As you know, the DNA test came back positive, and...Okumura-san would actually like to set up a date to meet the child. Of course, it's well within his legal rights as the child's biological parent, but there are a few requirements…"_

Yato felt a weight settle into the pit of his stomach immediately, his throat drying. No, wait...what was this? He'd said before that he'd wanted nothing to do with him.

 _"Iki-san? Are you there?"_ The soft tone sounded concerned.

"Y-yeah," Yato cleared his throat, "is there...any way I can decline? He said he didn't want anything to do with him, I… It's just, my wife is with child and I'm not sure she'd take well to the stress." It was a shitty excuse, but he was grasping at straws.

 _"I understand Iki-san. But, I'm afraid I can't do anything to refuse him. As I said, he's well within his legal rights. But we'll have a mediator sit in on the visit, and you can be present for it as well, if you so choose. You have to agree on a date, so I was calling to set that up with you. Is next tuesday available?"_

"I can clear it...I guess." He felt disconnected from himself, and once the call was over, he dropped the phone to the floor and put his head in his hands. "Fuck…"

"Yato? Is something wrong?" Hiyori's voice called from the hallway, and she came into the front room with Yukine balanced on her hip. "Who was that?"

"The fuckin' human services department. Yukine's biological dad wants t'see him and I can't refuse. We have to go up to the local building next tuesday to meet with him." He felt sick. He'd been sure that there wouldn't be anymore complications, he...why all of a sudden? He didn't understand.

"No way…" Hiyori's voice wavered and she tightened her hold on Yukine. "What are we going to do?"

"There's nothing we can do, Hiyori." Yato's voice was tired, but he finally lifted his head to look at her. "Not right now, anyway. I'll definitely stay during the visit. He won't be doing _anything_ to him."

 _Not if_ ** _he_** _could help it._


	14. Where Do We Stand?

**Author:** Here's another chapter for you guys! Just a quick warning, there ARE some mentions of abuse. So read with caution, yes? Either way, hope you enjoy! This story will wrap up in a few more chapters, I think.

 **Chapter Fourteen: Where Do We Stand?**

* * *

"I don't even know where to begin explaining this to him…" Yato sat, absently painting the back of the globe with blue acrylic. "Like, he _knows_ that I'm his dad. So what the hell am I supposed to refer to this man as when I'm talking about him?" He was troubled; Yukine was still young, but even though he hadn't wanted to explain to him how he came to stay with him…

"Well, he is still technically his father…" Hiyori swept her hair back, sitting down beside him. "But _you're_ his dad. He _knows_ that. But children can have more than one dad. You just have to explain that to him."

"...What if he meets him and decides that he wants him?" It was a question he didn't want to ask. But there was a possibility, wasn't there? What if? "He could want him back as a means to get his mother back, or…"

"Yato, calm down." Hiyori reached over, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Even if he does decide that...we'll fight to keep him. We've had him for this long, haven't we? He's happy, and healthy… he's doing well, here. To take him away from that and put him somewhere that...might not even be safe…" Her voice had started out strong and reassuring, but even she was becoming increasingly upset.

"It'll be okay. You're right, Hiyori...even if we have to fight. We'll get through it." Being pessimistic about it wouldn't help anything, after all. "...But I want you to stay home on that day. Whatever ends up happening...you don't need that stress. Promise me, you'll stay put." Yato knew that she probably _did_ want to come along; but now was definitely not the time. "Not saying you can't kick the guy's ass if need be-I've seen you do it-but we gotta keep the twins in mind."

"I promise…" Hiyori was quiet with her answer; she clearly didn't like the arrangement, but she understood the risks and knew it would have been for the best. "Ah! This is kind of unrelated, but I'll be taking Yukine-kun over to Daigo-kun's after he wakes up from his nap. Kofuku-san asked for him to come over yesterday, but since he was with you...I told her we'd drop by for lunch today."

"Oh yeah?" Yato put the thought away for later, turning his gaze back to look up at Hiyori. "I might go, too...I haven't gotten to bother Daikoku-san in a while." The man still sort of hated him, but it had become easier to get along, ever since Yukine had come into the picture. "I need to get my mind off of this shit, anyway."

* * *

"Hiyorin, Yuki-chan, welcome!" Kofuku's bubbly voice sounded from the kitchen. "Daigo's in the backyard with Koki. We're making Yakisoba for lunch. Is Yuki-chan oka-oh! Yatty! I didn't expect you to come with." Kofuku stepped out, carrying a tray balancing several glasses of lemonade. "You're free to help yourself, too, of course!" She made her way to the back door and pulled it open, nudging her way through it using her hip.

"Thanks, Kofuku-san! We appreciate it very much." Hiyori returned the young woman's enthusiasm, motioning for Yato to follow her outside.

"Easy does it, squirt." Yato placed Yukine down once outside, watching the child make a beeline for Daigo. Yukine tackled the other boy in a hug, and they both toppled to the ground in equal fits of laughter.

"I'm so glad they get along so well," Kofuku took a seat at the table that had been set up outside, smoothing out her apron, "Daigo's usually very finicky when it comes to other children." It was usually so hard, getting him to play with other children his age. "Ever since that incident with Yuki-chan, he's been asking me nonstop to see if he wanted to come over and play. How are his hands, by the way?"

"They're just fine, now." Hiyori smiled. "He did whine for a few days afterwards, but all things considered, he bounced back pretty quickly. Now I'm just glad I grew up with doctors." Yukine really was fortunate. "That's a little strange though, isn't it? Daigo-kun was so _shy_ around me at first. But Yukine-kun said he warmed right up to him! Walked in and gave him a big hug first thing."

"Maa, that _is_ strange!" Kofuku agreed with a giggle.

Both women's attention diverted when Daikoku came over to the table, Yato directly on his heels. "Got the meat fried up. Just gotta add the noodles and vegetables. Did you get the pickled ginger, Kofuku?"

"Ohh, I completely forgot!" The woman stood abruptly, offering a brief apology as she hurried back into the house.

"Do you two have it? I'll go help her." Hiyori stood as well, disappearing after her friend before either of the two men could object.

"Y'sure she should be doing all this while she's pregnant? Kofuku didn't really get up much past her fourth month." Then again, she'd had very terrible morning sickness, too…

"She hasn't said anything about not being able to," Yato shrugged, "she's pretty strong, so unless I think it's dangerous, I let her do what she can."

"That's damn foolish. Hiyori-chan's stubborn by default, y'know. She's gonna try to do things way past the point she should be." Daikoku placed a cigarette between his lips, lighting the end of it with his pocket lighter.

"I think I'm capable of making that call. And what's with the cigarette? You're _still_ smoking? I swear, one day you're gonna end up with lung ca-," Yato's remark was interrupted by a sudden, shrill wail.

"Daaaaddyyyy!" Yukine suddenly plowed into his leg, bawling.

"I didn' mean it! It was a acciden', I sow'ry!" Daigo was right behind him, also crying-just not as hard.

"Daikoku-y'got a first aid kit? Oi, you two! Calm down. What happened?" Yukine had a visible scratch on his cheek, the blood being smeared by the tears falling down his face. Daikoku left immediately to get what Yato requested, and Yukine sniffled.

"Him h-hit me with the tree!" He pointed back at Daigo, who started crying harder.

"I didn' mean'na hur'dim!" The other child wailed, sinking down to the ground and shoving his hands over his eyes. "We was jus' p-p'wayin'!"

Yato knew the last thing he should have done was laugh. But the way Yukine described it had him doubled over with laughter. "Haha, oh my g-I'm sorry, Yukine, I just-you mean with a tree branch, right?" He picked the boy up and set him down on top of a crate sitting next to the table, before turning his attention to Daigo. "Daigo-kun, don't worry about it. I know you didn't mean it." Although, he knew Yukine would hold it against the other boy for at least until after lunch.

"Got the first aid kit. Please tell me you know how to dress a scratch." Daikoku set the kit down and went to Daigo immediately, scooping him up and rubbing circles into his back. "S'okay, daddy's got ya'. Shh."

Yato rolled his eyes, flipping open the latch. "Look at who my wife is, asshole. Of _course_ I know how." He pushed open the lid, pulling out the supplies needed to clean the wound. "This is gonna sting a bit, Yukine." He warned the child, who just hiccuped and nodded.

"Yato! Is he okay?" Hiyori had rushed back out, quickly followed by Kofuku.

"Don't worry, Hiyori; he's fine. Him and Daigo were just playing around. I got it, though." Yato remained calm, starting to clean the cut with what he had on hand.

"Not half bad, Yato." Daikoku uttered around his cigarette, handing Daigo off to Kofuku. "Y'really have grown into yerself, haven't you?" He couldn't hide his surprise, but even still-Yato found it a bitter pill to swallow.

"Is it that hard to accept? Everyone still takes me as the miscreant I was in high school. It pisses me off." The raven grumbled, carefully applying a bandage to the cleaned cut. "You're all set, Yukine. You be careful, now-you too, Daigo-kun." He ruffled Yukine's hair, starting to clean up the supplies as the child slid off the crate.

"I think that fault lies in yer parents, Yato." Daikoku put his cigarette out with an exhale, resting a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "They ain't never said nothin' good about ya'." The brunette had to admit-he and Kofuku had been guilty of perpetuating that mindset, as sad as it was.

"The thing about that," Yato stepped forwards and turned to face Daikoku, arms crossed, "I _did_ mess up. I didn't even have my life together, and it took Yukine coming into my life for me to realize it. So...they were right. But that's what happens, isn't it? Shitty kids grow up to be shitty adults. Sometimes they need a wake up call to get where they need to be." And that wake up call had been a baby, for him.

Even still, he couldn't have been more grateful.

* * *

It only took a little under a week for the reality of the situation to hit Yato head on once again.

"Daddy, where goin'?" Yukine peered out the window of the car, watching the buildings pass by one by one. Yato hadn't spoken much since that morning-not even to him. This lead the child to wonder if maybe he'd done something wrong.

"Just for a ride into Kanagawa." Yato's response was concise; he couldn't elaborate while driving, and… he wanted to put it off as long as possible.

God, did he want to turn the car around and just go home.

"Did you bring Fluff?" Yato glanced into the rearview mirror, taking note of Yukine's bored expression.

"Yeah," Yukine sighed in response, turning away from the window and kicking the back of Yato's seat, "but, him fall down on the floor." He explained.

"That's alright. We're almost there. I'll get him for you when we park."

True to his word, Yato handed the plush back to the child when he got him out of his carseat. "Look, Yukine...I didn't explain it to you earlier, but I should before we go in." He picked him up and walked around the wall of shrubs at the entry zone, over to a flight of stairs leading up the the overpass bridge. He sat down on the second step with him, starting to fuss with his hair.

"Wha'…?" Yukine looked up at him with a small frown, not entirely sure what Yato was going to say. He could feel his unease though, and shifted uncomfortably in his lap. "Wha' dat?" He asked tentatively.

"Y'know, sometimes, kids have more than one daddy. Like when a mommy and daddy split up, and the mommy marries a new daddy. Do you understand what I'm saying so far?" He wanted to be as simple as possible; Yukine was a smart kid, but this was complicated even to most older children.

"Uh-huh." Yukine nodded, not looking up. "Like, like, um...Fumi'a-tan?" Uncle Kazuma had mentioned her in passing, as well as the fact that he wasn't her "first" dad. "It like her an' Kashuma-tan?" He questioned.

"Yes, exactly!" Thank God for Kazuma; he'd have to thank him later. "Uncle Kazuma is Fumiha-chan's daddy, but not the daddy who had her first. I never told you this, Yukine...but you have another daddy. We're here to see him today." He didn't want to mention exactly which daddy was which; knowing Yukine, there was a chance he'd get angry and storm off.

"Do I know him?" The question was asked so seriously, Yato almost missed it.

"Uh..I dunno. You knew him when you were a baby. But he wants to see you, and the people here told me I couldn't say no. So we're just gonna go talk to him." He worded it carefully, making sure to not make it sound like Yukine had a choice.

Neither one of them did, really.

"Hm…'kay." Yukine nodded, although his expression had turned troubled. He didn't like the idea of having two daddies, truth be told. He was fine with only one daddy.

"I'm glad you understand." Yato stood up with him again, holding him close. "I'll be here with you the entire time. We should hurry up and get this over with then, huh?" Whatever they were walking into, they'd do it together.

* * *

"Right this way, Iki-san." The timid, mousy looking man that had spoken with him over the phone was the one who lead him and Yukine to the meeting room. Through the one-way mirror, Yato could see the man. He was tall, and his build was beyond a doubt...intimidating. He could have been on par with Daikoku, and Yato suddenly found himself wishing that he'd asked the man to come with him.

How did I beat this guy up all that time ago? Yato couldn't exactly remember, now; but surely, it was all luck. "You'll have someone watching through this window, right?" He asked as confirmation, and Mr. Usahara nodded.

"Of course. No parental meeting goes unsupervised, Iki-san. But seeing as you have chosen to be directly involved, we feel it best to watch from a distance. Should anything happen-not that I think it will, but as a precaution-we have the security team ready and waiting." The man pushed his glasses up and gave Yato a reassuring smile, yet it wasn't enough to make him feel any better.

Taking a deep breath, Yato entered the meeting room with Yukine.

"You're late." The man spoke immediately, gruff voice revealing either a bad mood or a lack of sleep.

"Sorry about that, uh…Okinawa-san?" Regrettably, Yato couldn't accurately recall the man's name. He sat down at the table across from the man, and immediately felt Yukine tense up in his hold.

"Okumura." The man corrected him, none-too-politely. "That my kid?" He immediately turned his focus onto Yukine, who didn't turn to look at him.

"If you mean the child you contributed your DNA to, then yes. Don't call him your kid." Yato's voice was still calm-not that he knew how. He was angry. How dare this man think he owed any right?

"I'm his father. I didn't see you offering to sleep with that woman." The man leaned forwards, linking his fingers together. "...He's a bit on the small side, isn't he? You can't be bothered to feed him, or something?"

Something about the man reminded Yato of his own father.

And it made him sick.

"No shit. He was born premature, according to his birth certificate. Did you not remember?" Yato's eyes were cold, unrelenting. They had to be civil, but it was taking all he could not to lose his temper.

"Wasn't there." The man scoffed. "Bitch didn't even tell me she was in labor." He added. He turned his attention to Yukine, exuding an annoyed sigh. "You gonna look at me or not, kid? I came here 'cause I wanted to talk to you. Not the bastard your mother pawned you off on."

"Scary…" Yukine's head felt funny, yet he couldn't relate how he felt to Yato. He didn't know how. But when that man spoke...he became scared. He didn't know why. "Daddy, wanna go home…" He gripped onto Yato's shirt, peering up at him with tear filled eyes.

"That's real cute that you got him calling you daddy." The man's tone was mocking. "Kid, look at me. I just want to talk to you."

The guy was losing his temper, and Yato swallowed. "Yukine...do as he says, please? At least let him talk to you." He wanted to leave. He wanted to leave and not have Yukine see this man ever again.

Yukine didn't want to listen, but Yato was using a tone reserved for when he wouldn't put up with an argument. He nodded just slightly and turned around in Yato's lap, yet he didn't lift his head.

"Listen to me. He ain't really your daddy. He can play house with you all he wants, but the truth is, your sorry excuse for a mother dumped you on him 'cause she didn't want you. She didn't even tell me! Just packed some of your shit one morning and-,"

"Don't you dare talk to him like that!" Yato had officially lost his temper. "I don't know what you came here for, but you better leave. Now."

Without saying a word, the man stood and walked around the table. He grabbed Yukine's chin and forced him to look up, brushing his thumb over the child's cheek. "...Where'd he get this? You hurtin' him?"

Finally seeing the man's face triggered something that had long since been repressed in Yukine's mind. He gasped sharply and whimpered, confusion and fear mixing just enough to have him sliding out of Yato's lap and making a mad dash for the door.

"What the fuck kind of accusation is that!?" With Yukine gone, Yato could stand-and did. "No, don't even _start_ that. You know why she placed him with me, a complete _stranger?_ I read the note she left me with his birth certificate. How fucking **_dare_** you accuse me of hurting him when you're the one who hit him!? When you're the one who threw him down the goddamned _stairs!?_ It was a fucking miracle you didn't kill him!" His voice had raised at this point, and he was only interrupted by the security team coming in to break it up.

"We've heard enough of this. Okumura-san, is what Iki-san said true?" Urasawa entered the meeting room, Yukine secured in his grasp.

"...He wouldn't stop crying." Okumura rubbed the nape of his neck. "Day in and day out...as soon as she'd leave the house, he'd start up. I couldn't take it anymore."

"You'll be expected to file a full report with the police." The man was surprisingly bold, for how timid he'd appeared not even an hour before. "Iki-san, I apologize. I had no idea of what circumstances landed this child in your care, but the cameras have everything. Would you mind telling me...how did he get this scrape on his cheek?"

Yukine had remained eerily still, unresponsive since he'd been brought back in.

"He got it a few days ago. We were eating lunch at a friend's, and their child accidently caused a branch to hit him in the face. You can tell though, it's healing up okay."

"Yukine-kun? Is your daddy telling the truth?" Yusuke prompted the child.

Yukine didn't immediately respond. Then his eyes welled up and he shook his head, turning away from Yato.

"He's saying that's not-," Urasawa was cut off mid-speak, Yukine's voice breaking into a sob.

"He no'...my daddy…"


	15. Family

**Author:** Woo! This chapter is super late, mostly because I kinda got stuck halfway through. I had to re-write the middle part at least a handful of times. But! I think I'm satisfied with it. I did have to take a few liberties with the trial, mostly coming off of how western ones are done since I could find very little on how they were carried out in Japan.

As you may (or may not) have noticed, the chapter counter says there are two chapters left. This is only partially accurate! There will officially be one more chapter. However, a mini-epilogue will be posted after that. Seeing as the story is officially finished, I want to thank you all for sticking around through the duration of this fic! It was super fun to do, and I want to give a special thanks to JoKay for the inspiration! Hopefully the sequel will be just as fun.

 **Chapter Fifteen: Family**

* * *

"Yukine, what are you…?" Even knowing the kid probably didn't mean it, it hurt like hell. But Yato knew; under normal circumstances, Yukine wouldn't have said it. "...Urasawa-san, can I have a minute alone with him? Please? I just know that something's wrong. But he won't open up in front of strangers." While the kid didn't initially have a problem with them, he didn't like opening up in front of them.

"Very well...but, I will be right outside, I'll have you know. Until Yukine-kun can affirm to us what happened." The window wasn't soundproof, so he would know if Yato coached him on what to say. This was a silent warning, but Yato knew it well.

"C'mere, Yukine." He gingerly took the child from Urasawa, turning to sit him on the table so they were eye level. "You don't really mean that, right? Do you know what a daddy is?" He kept his voice quiet as Urasawa and the team holding Okumura left the room, reaching out to place a hand on Yukine's small shoulder.

"Nn." Yukine refused to look at him, pulling away from Yato and shoving his thumb into his mouth.

"That's alright. You don't have to say anything." Yato pulled his hand away, opting to fold them both in his lap. "I don't really know what happened. You were scared, weren't you? But you know you can tell me. You know that, right?" He was searching for a response-of any kind. He just wanted Yukine to talk to him again.

"To tell you the truth...I wasn't doing too well when your mother brought you to me, Yukine." Yato chose to continue speaking, carefully picking Fluff up off of the floor and holding him out. "Do you want him?"

Yukine wordlessly reached out and took the plush, holding it close to his chest. He started rocking side to side-but at least he was looking at Yato, now.

"So, when you came to me," Yato continued, allowing the boy to have his space, "I didn't know that I wasn't your first daddy. I thought I was. It wasn't until the day of your mama's graduation that I found out I wasn't." He refused to use the words, 'found out you weren't mine'.

"But, you're...the best thing that ever happened to me, Yukine." By some stroke of luck, he'd been given this wonderful reason to change. "My life was such a mess before you came into it. But you changed that, in the best way possible. I've watched you grow from that point-and boy, are you one of the smartest kids I know. You can brush your teeth, and you know how to work the remote to the TV-you can even dress yourself." Granted, he more often put them on backwards, but there was no reason to mention that.

"I love you, Yukine. I love you so much. I didn't know coming here today would cause you so much stress, or else I would have never agreed." He would have fought harder than anything to keep it from happening. "Can you ever forgive me for not telling you the truth?"

Yukine sniffed, pulling his thumb out of his mouth and burying his face against Fluff. "A daddy...is like a mama." He spoke, very quietly. "A mama...loves you, a-an' cares 'bout you..." He remembered the explanation Hiyori had given him, a long time ago. He pulled fluff away, carefully separating the strands of fur in prolonged silence. "Th, that means-!" He paused and gasped, promptly starting to cry and reaching out for Yato. "I sorry, daddy!"

Yato didn't waste any time in picking the child up, his own surprise coming when he started crying himself. "It's okay, Yukine! I've got you. Daddy's got you."

* * *

"How did it go? You two were gone for a while…" Hiyori wrapped her arms around Yukine as he climbed into her lap, kissing the top of his head as Yato closed the door behind himself. "Did you have fun with daddy, Yukine-kun?"

"Hiyori...I hope that man ends up in prison." Yato sounded tired, beyond reason. "Did you get any rest while we were gone?" He walked over and took a seat next to her, wrapping one arm around her and using his free hand to brush his fingers through Yukine's hair.

"Mm, no. I was too worried." Hiyori offered a guilty smile.

"Mama, daddy go' me ice cream!" Yukine spoke up, with a large grin.

"I...kinda felt bad, hah." Yato rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh-Yukine, why don't you go put Fluff to bed? He's had a long morning, and I need to talk to mama." Yato was thankful that Yukine was so receptive to please sometimes; they appeared to have things easy with him. After the child left with the plush toy, Yato's shoulders sagged.

"That guy...said so many awful things to him. I was supposed to protect him in there, but I had no idea that guy would say things like that. It was a nightmare, Hiyori. The observation team heard and saw it all, though. There's a good chance he won't be getting away with this."

"Oh my god...what did he say to him, Yato?" Hiyori found herself immediately concerned; Yukine seemed to be alright now, but there was no telling how it had really affected him.

"He told him that I wasn't his dad. That he was a burden...he told him that his mother didn't want him, either. Who the hell actually says that to a child's face? He's too young to not take things as they're told, you know? He took it as a literal, 'no one wants you'. And, that's not true at all!" Yato was upset again-and Hiyori didn't blame him.

"I'm glad I didn't go now...I would have gone after him. And you know I would have." It was sickening to think any person would speak to a child that way. Especially when a child was too young to know it wasn't their fault.

"I know. But not even I would have been able to take him, Hiyori. He was...a pretty big guy. I think even stronger than Daikoku-san." Yato forced a laugh. "Probably means that Yukine's gonna outgrow me one day." That was a hard fact to face, honestly.

"Oh, I don't know about that." Hiyori smiled, trying to ease her husband's mind. "...We actually got a letter from the court while you were out. It's asking that we confirm our appearance for Yukine's adoption hearing next week." Picking up the envelope off of the arm of the couch, she handed it over.

"That's next week? Already?" Taking the envelope, Yato pulled the folded piece of paper out to skim over it. "To tell you the truth, it doesn't even feel like all that long ago that I called to get this whole thing set up. Can't say I'm not relieved that it'll all be over soon, though." The wait was always the worst part, though. "After what happened today...I don't think there'll be a huge disadvantage. I'll have Urasawa-san compile a report before we attend the hearing."

"I know. Good thing, too. Judging from what you said, it'll be more than enough evidence as to why he should stay with us." Hiyori reached to grab a pen off the table, handing it off to him. "All you have to really do is sign it; they're paying for the return postage."

"Got it." Yato accepted the pen, scrawling his name out at the bottom and returning the form to the envelope.

"Yukine sure is being quiet." Hiyori spoke up again, minutes into the following comfortable silence. "I'm going to go check on him." She gave Yato a quick kiss and pushed herself up to her feet, moving to the back of the house. Upon entering Yukine's room, she stopped just inside the doorway. "Thought as much." She smiled, seeing the boy asleep.

"Today must have really worn him out." Yato came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Hiyori, do you think we should-uh, get him seen? He's a smart kid, but there's gotta be some rotten genes in there that need to be addressed..."

"Yato, you're thinking too far ahead." Hiyori turned in his grasp, arms curling over his shoulders. "Yukine's a good boy. For now, I don't think there's a problem. We'll know in time, so until then we'll give him as much love as we can. Who even knows why that man is the way he is? Just because he has a bad attitude doesn't mean it's hereditary."

"Yeah, you're right. I really want to raise him properly, you know? I don't want him to feel like he needs a reason to act that way." It could have been as simple as the guy not liking kids, but Yato couldn't help but wonder. He wanted Yukine to remain happy.

"Around puberty is when you have to really start worrying, I think. He's far away from that, though." Hiyori nodded. "To think, we'll have _three_ teenagers in the house at the same time, one day." She wrinkled her nose.

"I don't even want to think about it, Hiyori. Puberty is a difficult age." It was the period where hormones changed, and nine times out of ten, the age where children acted as if the world was coming to an end every time something didn't go 'right'.

"I don't know about that. I was pretty well-behaved, don't you think?" Hiyori pulled away, looking up at him.

"Hiyori, let me assure you; you _weren't_ the norm. I gave my parents absolute hell. It wasn't that I didn't love them or anything like that...I did. I just felt that maybe-like, they didn't treat me the same as they did Mizuchi? Didn't notice until I was a little older, but dad definitely favored her. I guess that's why I wasn't surprised when I found out he wasn't my biological dad. I've always felt kind of-well, _disconnected_ from him. As if I didn't belong."

"Have you thought about looking for him?" Hiyori took his hand, leading him back to the living room. "Your real dad, I mean."

"Nah, my mom doesn't even know where he is, by this point. It was a short involvement and she can't even recall his name. I'm not too worried about it, honestly." He'd never had any interest to search the guy out. "Maybe he's dead."

"You're only twenty-four."

"Terminal illness is a thing, Hiyori! So-, so are accidents! Look, I've never met the guy-I'm happy where I am, too-so there's no reason to seek him out right now. There's a chance he doesn't even know I exist. Or want me, for that matter. As shitty as it is…"

"You're afraid he'll reject you?" Hiyori prodded him gently, and Yato sighed louder than necessary.

"You just _have_ to back me into a corner this way, don't you?" He muttered. "But maybe. I don't know. I'm used to people not wanting me around. You know, it took forever for Daikoku-san and even Kofuku-san to _toler-,"_

"Yato, stop." A soft finger was being pressed against his lips, silencing him. "That's enough, isn't it? I'm not dismissing how you feel...but I don't like it when you talk that way. There are so many good things about you that you don't realize. I just want you to try and look harder at yourself."

"I know, Hiyori… I'm sorry. I won't talk about it anymore." Yato smiled, but it was obviously forced. Hiyori had a point; the more he kept putting himself down, the harder it would be to change his outlook. Plus...he didn't want Yukine taking that away from him. The last thing he wanted was for the kid to develop self-image issues like _he_ had. "Starting now. I promise."

"That's considerate of you to say, but I don't expect you to be able to stop a habit you've been doing for years, cold turkey. We'll work on it." Hiyori reached out, cupping his cheeks. "Also…there's a letter from Maher-san. It's for you." Letting go of him, the girl turned and picked up the pile of mail, rifling through the envelopes before coming to a pink colored one.

"Maher-san?" Yato reached out to take it, his confusion evident as he pulled the letter out. "Ah, Liliana-san. Hm…" Reading over the neatly scrawled print, he was silent for several minutes. "She wants to start exchanging letters with us. She gave up her parental rights, but she's still interested in keeping up with him from a distance. She must have set up a P.O. Box without her husband's knowledge."

"Are you really okay with that? What if she…?" Hiyori's question remained open-ended.

"No chance." Yato shook his head. "She was adamant that she stay out of Yukine's life. Physically, at least. She has a seven year old daughter and I doubt she'd want to screw her life up by bringing attention to the child she had out of wedlock. Her husband would leave her, and the kid would be left without a dad. There's no harm in keeping her up to date on him though, right?"

"I suppose…" Still, Hiyori couldn't help but feel worried about it.

* * *

The next week hadn't rolled around quickly enough. Yuusuke had gotten on the matter of the report rather quickly and had it mailed out, and Yato was delighted to receive it just a day before they were supposed to appear.

"That was really close." Yato was looking at the road as he spoke to Hiyori, fingers drumming against the steering wheel. "A day later and it would have been too late." The report from Yuusuke came out to be pretty useful and incriminating, at least regarding Yukine's biological father. Everything that was said, plus some extra details he had confessed to off the record.

Yato had to admit, learning about it all had left him feeling more angry than anything else. It came as no surprise that the meeting had left Yukine to have nightmares for the couple of days following. The guy just didn't care, did he?

"It'll definitely help." Hiyori agreed. "They have the security footage on file, right? Just in case _that_ isn't enough."

"Yep. Urasawa-san said he'll have a representative stand by with it, if things don't seem to lean in our favor. He's really rooting for us." Overall, the man had been pretty supportive in the highest professional regard.

"I'm glad. I've actually heard that most services like the one we chose lean more in favor of the biological parents." While Hiyori had never thought she'd be in a situation of dealing with adoption, she was glad that she at least did a fair amount of research when faced with the possibility of having to adopt Yukine.

"They do. I'm pretty sure even Urasawa-san was more in favor of the kid's biological parents until that meeting happened. And since Yukine's mother is MIA _and_ a foreigner...all things considered, we _are_ the best option. I think he realizes that, despite how young we are. Hell, even in these cases, twenty five is usually the youngest they'll allow. I had to go through extensive lifestyle and history examinations."

If Yukine hadn't been living with him for this long already, the chances of the adoption having been successful would have been slim to none. They were 'definitely a unique case', he'd been told. "He has nowhere else to go except to the system...but it'd be stupid to uproot him now, as stable as his life has been, up to this point."

Still, Yato couldn't help but feel a bit worried. What if they _did_ decide otherwise...?

"Don't worry so much. We've gotten this far, right? If they really thought you to be too irresponsible, they would have taken him into custody already." Hiyori tried to ease his stress, before turning to look into the back seat. "He's still asleep…"

"We all had to get up early, so I'm not surprised. It's okay to let him snooze until we get there." If he could have, Yato would have opted for Yukine not to even be there.

Sometimes, life had a way of making everything so much more _irritating_.

* * *

Hours later, they found themselves standing in the courtroom awaiting the final word on their case. Yato had managed to call Kazuma and his family in for the occasion, and the entire Iki family had also come to attend the hearing.

"Well," the judge flipped through the case review, "everything seems to be filed accordingly. Okumura-san's previous actions notwithstanding, he signed over his parental rights early on. I did reach out to Maher-san previously for a statement, so the next step will be you both offering a testimony. Iki, Yato." The older gentleman waved to the stand at his side, and Yato shifted uncomfortably.

"Yukine, can you go sit over next to mama?"

The child clearly didn't want to move, but eventually did slide out of Yato's lap to move around the desk and sit next to Hiyori. Rising from his own seat, Yato went up to the stand, giving Hiyori a thin smile. His nerves were making his stomach churn.

"Calm down Iki-san," the judge gave him a friendly smile to ease his nerves, "I just want you to confirm your intentions." It was a simple procedure that every expecting parents needed to undergo. "Urasawa-san, you are representing the Iki couple, yes?"

Yuusuke scrambled quickly to his feet. "Y-yes sir! Me and Yato-san have been communicating the case these past few months and he has been very cooperative!" Walking over to the stand, the brunette bowed sharply. "Iki-san, I'd like you to confirm your intentions of how exactly you plan to care for Yukine-kun."

"That's it?" Yato deadpanned. "You totally got me sweating bullets over here, man!" Shooting Yuusuke an angry look, he sighed.

"What do you want me to say? When Yukine first came to me, I had no idea that he wasn't...that I wasn't his biological father. His mother had even gone so far as to lie to me. Left a note saying he was mine, and that she couldn't take care of him anymore." It still left a bitter taste in his mouth, but not because of Yukine.

 _Never_ because of Yukine.

"But that didn't break the attachment I had to him, as my own son. I've been working so _hard_ to take care of him. I wouldn't be the person I am, if it hadn't been for that kid. I want to give him the best life I can. Give him everything he needs, and love him just like I have since the day he came to me. I intend to do nothing more, and nothing less than the best that I can provide."

"Is that your final statement?" Yuusuke blinked expectantly, and Yato nodded.

"I love him."

"Good. You may return to your seat, Yato-san. Hiyori-san, you are next." Calling the young woman over, Yuusuke moved aside to let her through. "Tell me, Hiyori-san; what are _your_ intentions towards Yukine-kun?" Tucking his review folder under his arm, he stepped closer and smiled. "No pressure, miss! Just the procedure."

"I know." Hiyori smiled, knowing for sure that she was failing to hide her own nerves. "Yato called me the same day that he found Yukine outside of his apartment. This was...two years ago, I believe? I was in high school, but I think I was on break. He called me just panicking." She laughed. "But...honestly, the first day we spent together, I just knew. I was young, but I wanted to love this child just as much as Yato did. I went over to his apartment almost every day to babysit. My parents actually grew concerned that I had plans to move in." Thinking back, it seemed quite silly.

"But...then I did. And suddenly, both of them became my entire world. Whether he's mine biologically or not, I want to raise him alongside my husband. I want us to be a family, and I want Yukine to belong in our family. Yes, we are going to grow in size soon," she paused, a hand resting gently against her swollen abdomen, "but that won't change how much I care for him. He'll always be a son to me, no matter what. I want him to grow up knowing how much we care about him, and how loved he is."

"And you are both under the same understanding that should your marriage end, you will be equally responsible for this child?" The judge nodded towards her, turning his glance onto Yato soon afterwards.

"Yes, sir. We both understand." Yato responded without hesitation.

"Very well then, I don't see why we should stretch this out any longer than we already have." Rifling through the forms in front of him, a singular document was moved to the top of the stack. "Ah. Here we are." The man cleared his throat.

"Seeing as both parties have consented to the adoption taking place today, we therefore execute an agreement in the presence of the court. The child shall be treated-in all respects-as your lawful children, and shall hereafter be known as Iki, Yukine. Will the child come forward?"

"Come here, Yukine." Hiyori came out from behind the stand, coaxing the boy over.

Seeing Yukine's hesitance, Yato stood up and went around, lifting the child up and carrying him to stand before the judge. "Sorry, sir. He's a little nervous." It was true; Yukine had been that way since they'd gotten there. "You need to answer the man's question, okay? I'm right here." Speaking quietly, Yato finally managed to get the blond to look up.

"That's alright, m'boy. Now Yukine, can you tell me something? Would you like-,"

"Why, why you got that on your eye?" Yukine found his courage, interjecting the man's question to point out his observation by tapping his own eye. The court broke out into soft laughter, and the judge reached up to touch the patch obscuring his right eye.

"Sword fighting! I took lessons when I was just a boy. Come now, you can ask me all the questions you'd like if you answer mine. Deal?" Reaching a hand out, the judge waited until Yukine took it and shook on it. "I only wish to know how you feel about these two being your parents."

Yukine pouted and wrapped his arms around Yato's shoulders, turning away from the judge. "Wan' mama an' daddy." He declared. He had no idea what this man meant, but he had absolutely no intention of having his parents taken away from him

"And so you shall." Writing down his signature, the judge tucked the form back into the case file. "We're done here for the day. Iki-san, I'll have a copy of the adoption and birth certificates mailed to you. It will be your responsibility to keep them safe."

"Understood." Yato nodded, holding a hand out for Hiyori to take.

Obliging to his invitation, Hiyori took his hand in her own and carefully stepped down from the stand. She was visibly emotional, and reached out to hug both her husband and son.

"Did you hear that, Yukine? You're staying exactly where you are!"


	16. Due Date

**Author:** Technically the end! I couldn't find the proper place to leave it off on, so the epilogue will stand in as an ending. See you there!

 **Chapter Sixteen: Due Date**

* * *

"What does this say, Yukine honey?"

"Mo, mooo-n-key...Monkey."

"Very good! And what about this word here?"

"Mother, I told you to put him down for his nap thirty minutes ago. Why is he still up?" Hiyori entered the bedroom, not surprised at all to see her mother sitting in the rocking chair while attempting to teach Yukine how to sound out some words.

"Mama! I readin'!" Yukine grew instantly excited, sliding down from Sayuri's lap to run up and hug her legs. "I miss you!"

"He isn't tired, Hiyori dear! Why put him down to sleep when he is more interested in learning? He's such a bright little boy! So much smarter than…" Sayuri trailed off, clicking her tongue. "Anyway. I think you could get him into a good private school with how intelligent he is." She stood, carefully placing the book on the shelf next to her. "How did the appointment go?"

Not immediately answering her mother, Hiyori reached down to ruffle Yukine's hair. "That's great, sweetie. Mama missed you too, so much. You're very smart, you know that?" While using a motherly tone for Yukine's sake, the expression she was giving her own mother was...well, far less _nice_.

"We went over that, didn't we? Yukine will attend public school, just like I did. Just like _Yato_ did. I know you're tied to the glamorous lifestyle, but...Yato and I decided that we just want our children to have a normal life. It should be their choice, where they want to go. If they want to go to a private school, we'll discuss it when they bring it up to us." Sometimes, her mother could be a little overbearing, in that way. "But it went fine. He said that everything looked good and that they were doing great, but I should stop lifting more than necessary. It's still two months before the due date, so false contractions are normal."

"Mama, pick me up!"

"Sorry Yukine, I can't." Hiyori gave the boy an apologetic smile. "Daddy's bringing lunch in, so why don't you go ask him to get you some, okay?" Waiting until the child had left, she directed her gaze towards her mother once again. "You didn't say anything to him, right? I know how you think, and you haven't exactly agreed with everything I've done up to this point, but he's young and you don't need-."

"Hiyori, calm down. It's true, I...I wanted so much _better_ for you. I wanted you to wait until you were a little older, I feel like Yato wasn't-...I feel like he must have _pressured_ you in some way-,"

"Don't." Hiyori lifted a hand. "I chose all of this for myself. I'm an _adult,_ mother. I know that you have this, this _idea_ in your head that Yato is some kind of bad guy, but he isn't! He's a good husband, and an excellent father-and I _wanted_ to be Yukine's mother. Nothing, and I mean _nothing_ , was Yato 'pressuring', or 'coercing' me. Now did you say anything bad about Yato to him or not?"

"I didn't!" Sayuri responded defensively. She paced back and forth briefly, a hand lifting to her lips. "I saw this coming...I saw it, and I did _nothing_. Ever since that boy moved in next door to us, how you two used to spend the weekends together even though you were just a child...you still _are_ my baby, Hiyori. I'm just scared that you'll get hurt. Your father thinks so _highly_ of him, but I can't help but worry."

"I know. But Yato struggles with the same thing, you know that? He thinks he messed up so _badly_ , way more than you do. Except he is plagued by it every single day. So you not having faith in _him?_ You're doing nothing but hurting the _both_ of us. Just please, mom-I'm _begging_ you. Give him a chance to prove himself. For me? I know you love Yukine, but Yato is just as big of a part of my life as _he_ is."

"I...yes, of course, dear." Sayuri folded her hands in front of herself, walking forwards to press a kiss against her daughter's forehead. "I'll be going, then." She walked to the door, stopping just outside of it. "Oh…! Hello, Yato-kun. I was just on my way out…" The awkward encounter trailed off, with Yato using a false, cheery tone to see the woman off.

"Yeah, sure. Thank you for watching Yukine today, Sayuri-san. Have a safe drive home."

Uh oh.

"Her too, huh?" Finally entering the room, Yato stepped forwards to place his hands against Hiyori's waist and kiss the side of her neck.

"Yato, I'm so sorry. The last thing I wanted was for you to hear any of that." The young woman's tone was full of regret, feeling overall awful about what her mother had said.

"It's not your fault. Old people, y'know?" Forcing a laugh, Yato pulled away. "I'm used to it. Anyway, I actually just got off the phone with Kazuma. He invited us all out to see a special screening at Capyper land next weekend. If you're up for it, I mean. I know your feet have been hurting, so I told him it was up to you."

"Well...if it's only in the theater, I don't see the harm in it since we'll be sitting through the most of it. I actually think Yukine would love it. We can even walk around a little so you two can go on a couple of rides, or something." She hadn't been to the land of dreams since she was a kid; it was a chance to do something nice as a family.

"You let him take a ride on one, and he'll want to stay the whole day." Yato grinned. "The screening should be enough. After the twins arrive and they get a little older, we can take a proper trip so that we can all have a fun day out."

"Well...okay." Hiyori turned, pressing a kiss against Yato's jaw. "I see your point. Now, was that all you came up here for? You left our son by himself." She smiled, pulling away from Yato just in time to catch the 'oh, hell' look he made.

"Yeah, shit-Yeah. That was it. But you have to come with me, 'cause your lunch is getting as cold as mine is."

* * *

"You really like the capyper song don't you, Yukine?" Hiyori peered into the back seat, smiling as she watched the child. While he was preoccupied in watching out the car window, that didn't stop him from singing under his breath.

"Uh-huh! I gonna see the ca'pers!" Yukine grinned, clearly excited about it.

"Yeah, I know! He's going to introduce the movie, isn't he?" Hiyori was pretty happy to see the boy's enthusiasm, considering they hadn't had a real outing as a family in a while. It'd be the last one for now, since the next couple of months would be the hardest to handle for her during her pregnancy.

"I'm just happy that I can actually afford to pay for our seats this time." Yato spoke up next to her, gaze not moving from the road as he brought the car to a stop at the light. "Gotta owe it to Kazuma though, he-whoa!"

His words were interrupted as the vehicle suddenly lurched forwards.

"A-are you two okay?" His vision had gone black momentarily, but that didn't stop him from immediately checking on both Hiyori and Yukine.

"I'm alright…" Hiyori's voice was shaky, but she seemed to be okay save for being in slight shock. "What happened? Did someone rear-end us?" Looking up behind the car, she noted another car swerving around the side of them.

"Yeah, I think so. The asshole just drove past the red light, too." Yato's tone took on an edge of irritation. "Yukine, you alright? Stay here with mama a second, I gotta check on the car." He pulled them into the service lane, parking the car once again and getting out.

"Tha' was scary..." Yukine's lower lip jutted out and he sniffed, reaching up to rub at his shoulder. "I okay, just hurted a little bit."

"I'm glad…It was pretty scary, I know. It's why we should always wear our seat belts, right?" This was as good of a time as any to refresh the purpose of safety belt usage, she supposed. "If you're wearing it, the chances of getting hurt become just a little."

"That's right. Always wear your seat belt, Yukine." Yato slipped back into the driver's seat, closing the door back. "It's just dented a little, but the tires and everything look fine. I'll just take it into the shop tomorrow and have them fix it up. It's no big deal."

"Good to know. It wouldn't have been a problem if it involved money, but we _do_ need the car." Hiyori spoke as Yato pulled back out onto the road. "We can't really transport us _and_ the kids without one."

"Yeah. I wouldn't have even had a car myself if my uncle hadn't given me his. _You_ came from a well-off family though, so I'm not surprised in _your_ case." Yato was half teasing.

"Hey!" Hiyori almost-yelled at Yato upon hearing his comment. Thankfully for him, his cell went off so that he wouldn't have to defend himself. Pulling the device up, he swiped across the screen to answer.

"Yeah, Kazuma?"

 _"Yato, have you left yet? Me and Viina are at the front gate with Fumiha-chan and the twins."_

"Well shit, four-eyes, you didn't even tell me you'd left yet." Yato's tone was aggravated, but he didn't take his eyes off the road. "But yeah, we're about halfway there. The only reason we're not there _yet_ is because some idiot ran into the back of the car and dented it a few blocks back. Everyone's okay, though." He spoke, trying to focus on his conversation through Yukine singing the Capyper land theme song in the back seat once again.

 _"Oh my. And Miss Hiyori's alright, as well? She_ ** _is_** _pregnant…"_

"I was worried too, but she said she's fine. The dumbass probably wasn't paying attention to the street light..."

"In the same way _you're_ not?" Hiyori reached over, taking the cellphone away from him. "Kazuma-san, thank you for your concern. But yes, I assure you, we're _fine_. We probably won't be, however, if Yato continues to talk and drive at the same time."

 _"Ah? Very well, Hiyori-san. I apologize. We will go ahead to the theater, so please meet us there."_

"Got it. We'll see you soon." Hanging up, Hiyori dropped the phone into the side compartment.

"Did you just…?" Yato looked over just long enough to give her a surprised look. Shaking his head, he turned back to watch ahead of him. "Well...you know best, I guess." He wasn't about to go against her decision to just hang up, but he wished he had gotten the chance to say more.

"I did. Kazuma-san said they were heading into the theater, so we can head over as well after we park." The rest of the drive was spent in mostly silence from the pair, only broken by Yukine's occasional question of how close they were.

Thankfully, he didn't have to ask more than twice.

* * *

"Up and out, squirt." Yato unfastened the restraints of the car seat, lifting Yukine out and going around the side to open the door for Hiyori. "Need a hand, my lady?" He held out his free hand as an offering, causing Hiyori to laugh.

"Only if it's from a handsome prince such as yourself." She accepted the offer and stepped out, shutting the door behind herself. "Hey, what was that for? It's true." She negated the sudden eye roll from Yato, pressing against his shoulder as they walked towards the front gate.

"Mama, we gonna see the ca'pers!" Yukine talked over Yato's shoulder, looking back at Hiyori excitedly. "You 'cited?" He'd never been here before, but he had heard the theme song at least a hundred times on the TV. It looked fun.

"I sure am, Yukine." Hiyori smiled back towards him, continuing to talk back and forth with him up until the point where she suddenly stopped. "Oh…"

"Mama okay?" Yukine grew visibly concerned by the hurt expression on Hiyori's face. Yato stopped as well upon hearing Yukine's concern, looking back towards Hiyori as well.

"What's up? Everything alright?"

"Y-yeah, I...I think one of the twins kicked me, that's all." She placed a hand on her stomach, a small move that sought to ease the babies' activity. "It's not a big deal. I'm fine, so let's meet up with Kazuma-san and the others."

"You sure?" Yato looked hesitant, only because he knew how stubborn Hiyori could be. "Because, if we need to go-,"

"Yato, I promise. I'm okay. I think _I_ would know if something was wrong, right? It only lasted a second. If it happens again, I'll tell you. Masaomi _did_ say that false contractions were normal, you know." Hiyori didn't seem all that concerned; she grabbed Yato's hand and strode ahead, stopping just outside of the theater.

"I get it. Yukine, go with mama and find Uncle Kazuma. I have to get the tickets." Yato placed Yukine down, pulling his wallet out in order to pay the ticket manager. After receiving their tickets, he proceeded into the theater.

"Yato! Over here." Kazuma's voice could be heard over the crowd, and Yato skimmed the rows of seats to pick out his friend. He spotted him in one of the lower seats, waving him over. "Yukine-kun and Hiyori-san are here, too."

"Got it. Thank you, Kazuma." Yato spoke once he was closer, settling in next to Hiyori. "I did tell Yukine it would get a little dark, so I hope it doesn't spook him." A glance was given to the boy, and Hiyori shook her head.

"I think he'll be fine. Fumiha-chan and the twins are doing good to prep him for it." Hiyori nodded. "Kazuma-san said that they're going to be staying after to go on some of the rides. Are you sure that you don't want to stay?" He'd shot the idea down before, but asking again wouldn't hurt.

"Ehh. I still don't feel good about that." Yato admitted quietly. "Like, if you're feeling okay after...then maybe? I'll think about it." He placed his hand on top of hers, looking at her with a soft smile. "Don't wanna get the kid's hopes up too soon, y'know?"

Hiyori only nodded. "I suppose...just feel like I'm the one keeping him from having a good time today." Although, the screening alone had gotten him excited enough. He was just happy to get out of the house with them, it seemed.

"Nah, don't blame yourself, Hiyori. He's still young, so I doubt he'd remember it anyway. It's best to go when he's older, I think." Yato responded easily as the lights dimmed, an animated Capyper intro popping up on screen. "Let's just have fun with this much, today."

About twenty minutes into the screening, Hiyori found herself at an impasse. While the day so far had certainly been eventful, she wasn't sure if she'd call it 'fun'. The pressure in her abdomen had been uncomfortable at _least_ , but she felt reluctant to actually say anything since it wasn't constant.

...Well, for the most part. There was a limit to everything.

"Yato," Hiyori's voice was shaking, just above a whisper as she leaned over to talk to him, "either I just had an accident, or the stork's landing early. And I _don't_ think it was an accident."

"The what?" Yato answered distractedly, but the realization came in just a few seconds. "Holy hell! Now!? You mean, _right_ now?" He yelled, but immediately went quiet at the look Hiyori was giving him. "..Okay, alright. Kazuma." Leaning forwards, he grabbed the man's attention.

"We have to go. Hiyori's water just broke."

"Her- _oh_." Adjusting his glasses, Kazuma got to his feet. "Viina, will you help Hiyori-san to the car? I'll get the children." Despite Yato's own panic, Kazuma seemed particularly calm. Perhaps it was his willingness to jump into a situation and solve it; whatever the reason, Yato was silently grateful for his resolve.

* * *

"Hiyori? I got here as fast as I could." Masaomi rushed into the room, somewhat out of breath. "It was my day off, but Yato called me, and-can't have anyone else handling your-." He stopped himself, clearing his throat. "Yes, well. Anyway, let's see what's going on here. Pull your shirt up for a second." Adopting an air of professionalism, he grabbed the cart holding the ultrasound machine, squirting some gel out onto the wand before pressing it to the lower side of her abdomen.

"I know it's still way early," Hiyori frowned, looking towards the screen, "but I _might_ have waited too long to say something…" If she had been entirely truthful, maybe things wouldn't be happening so _fast_.

"You're not the first woman to do it." Masaomi flashed her a small smile, in a meek attempt to cover his concern. "You've always been stubborn, too. Should have expected something like this, really. Enough about that, though. Yato told me that your car got rear-ended earlier? Did your stomach make contact with the dash-board at all?"

"Only briefly. It didn't really hurt? I didn't really feel anything until I stood up, but then I started having contractions. Or, that's what I think they were." Taking a look at the screen, she tried to make out what she could with her limited knowledge in radiology.

"It _does_ look like the amniotic sac has ruptured, and Baby A's heart-rate is lower than it should be, so chances are we'll have to do a cesarian section since this is a multiple birth." Taking the wand away, he wiped the remaining gel off of her stomach.

"Are they going to be okay?" Hiyori frowned, dread bubbling up within her. "I-I mean, will they live?"

"Don't worry, Hiyori. Technology has come a long way. They'll have to spend a few months in the NICU, but my team is very qualified and they'll be in good hands. The chance of something actually going wrong is very low." Moving the machine back, he finally took notice of the missing father. "...Where is Yato, anyway? Does he have Yukine with him?"

"Yato's downstairs eating lunch with Yukine and Kazuma-san. I told him to leave because his panicking was making me nervous." Hiyori sounded a bit guilty, but Masaomi interjected the feeling with a shake of his head.

"In this situation, it's a good thing. I'll have Rina-chan come in and prep you...ah. In the meantime, I'll give Yato a call and tell him that he can come up and see over the procedure. As long as he keeps himself composed, that is. We'll see if Kazuma can watch over Yukine, too."

"Are you going to call mom and dad?" Hiyori felt compelled to ask.

"If you want. Father knows that you're here, but he's operating in the west wing right now so he won't be able to come up until after he's finished, more than likely. Mother will probably be down here before I can even hang up."

"...On second thought, please wait until after the delivery to call her." The last thing she needed was her mother worrying over her. She could get worse than Yato, sometimes.

"Haha, understood." Masaomi laughed.

* * *

"You awake?"

Through the hum of the heart monitor and the nurse's hushed voices, Hiyori could just barely make out Yato's voice. She could feel him stroking her cheek, and she slowly reached up to grasp his hand. "I am...just kind of sleepy." In all honesty, it felt like she was under some kind of fog. "You look really good in those scrubs."

The comment caused Yato to laugh, and he pulled the surgical mask down. "You flatter me, miss. You did really well though, Hiyori. The babies are fine; they were taken down to the NICU shortly after they were cleaned up."

"I wasn't really aware at that point." Hiyori's voice was quiet, and Yato leaned in to hear her better. "Did you get to see what they were?" During the entire pregnancy, she hadn't asked the gender of them at all. Maybe it was wanting it to be a surprise, or maybe she had been so preoccupied with everything else.

"Girls. Identical twins. I told the nurse that we weren't going to name them just yet. I wanted you to make the final decision."

"We can go over the ones we picked out." Hiyori responded, more aware. "After they take me back to my room, we'll all go up there and visit. I'm sure Yukine wants to see his new sisters, too." Probably driving Kazuma a bit mad in the process, even.

Nodding, Yato gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Yeah. I'll go talk to them and meet you back in your room."

Despite Hiyori's exhaustion, the family (And Kazuma) was able to congregate in the NICU to get a first look at the babies. And for Yukine, he was able to see a newborn for the very first time.

"Daddy look, they so liiiittle…." The child prodded at the incubator containing the youngest little girl, face smushed against the glass. "Wha' her name?"

"This one's Akemi-chan. You see your other sister over there? That's Hanami-chan." Hiyori moved herself over to sit next to them, resting a hand atop Yukine's head and ruffling his hair. "They're very little right now because they were born early. But they'll be able to come home before your birthday. They just need to grow a little more."

"'Cause, 'cause they weren't 'appose to come out yet, right?" Yukine peered up at her for verification, smiling when she nodded. "I like 'em."

"I would sure hope so, Yukine-kun. They are going to be quite the handful, so you're going to have to help your mother and father make sure they get whatever they need. You can do that, yes?" Kazuma had been quiet up until that point, mostly trying to ease the headache he'd developed from the child reiterating the same, concerned inquiries.

In response, the boy just grinned. "Mhm! I gonna be the best bro'fer there is!"


	17. Epilogue

**Author:** Fini.

 **Epilogue**

* * *

"Mama, daddy, hurry up! I'm gonna be _late!"_ Yukine was fairly certain they were going to get in some kind of trouble if they didn't make it into the school's opening ceremony _right_ that second. He could already see the gate, but both Yato _and_ Hiyori were way behind.

"Yukine, just a second! Akemi-chan's harness is all twisted. Yato, can you-?" Hiyori stepped away, huffing in slight defeat. "Sometimes I feel like these harnesses were made to be the parents' worst enemy."

"What? That sounds crazy, Hiyori. But yeah, I got it. Here, take her a minute." Handing Hanami off to Hiyori, Yato stepped in to untangle the safety harness and pull Akemi out. "Got her. Okay Yukine, you can go ahead." Stepping away, Yato shut the car door and moved to follow Hiyori.

"Yes!" Yukine ran ahead, disappearing inside the gate. Not two feet in, he knocked into another child and went sprawling onto his back. "Ee-gh…"

"Yukine, are you alright?"

"Yuki-chan?" The boy who he'd knocked into turned, reaching out a hand to pull him up. "You're comin' here, too!?"

"Daigo-chan!" Yukine squealed, throwing his arms around the other boy as soon as he was on his feet. "What happened to all your haaaiiir? Did you get it cut?" He reached up to run his fingers through his friend's hair, eliciting a giggle from him.

"Yep! Mama cut it!" Daigo nodded, looking up as Yato and Hiyori met up with them.

"Jeez, that explains why it's so short. You should let your daddy handle the scissors from now on, kid. Your mama could have-,"

"Yato." Hiyori smacked Yato on the back of the head. "Don't worry, Daigo-kun. It looks really nice." She assured him, shooting Yato an extra glare just for good measure. "Where are your parents, anyway?" Hanami had reached up to grab onto her hair, and she winced silently as she tried to pull the little girl's fingers away.

"Hanami, please let go of mama's hair-,"

"They're inside!" Daigo piped up enthusiastically, completely disregarding Yato's comment about his hair. "I was gonna go back to meet them, but then Yuki-chan bumped into me!"

"I _did_ tell him not to run when we got here, but I guess that got disregarded the moment I told him to 'go ahead'." Yato rolled his eyes. "Anyway, let's go meet up with your parents, okay? Come on, you two."

"Okay!"

* * *

 _Maher-san,_

 _Today, Yukine started Elementary school. He was really excited to go! He even got up an hour before me and Yato did. I'm happy to report that he got along with the other children, and he adores his teacher. He wore himself out so much that he went to bed a whole hour early today. He was a little nervous yesterday, but thankfully after today, I don't think that will be a problem._

 _We will face many challenges in the years to come. He has been a very agreeable little boy, but as he gets older and more independent, I'm sure he'll be finding ways to push our buttons, as all children will. I can't say I mind; in fact, I look forward to the challenges. I am sincerely grateful that he is our son, no matter the circumstances of how he came to us. You did the right thing. Coming from where we started, I can say with confidence that Yukine is the one who brought this family together. And really, I wouldn't have it any other way._

 _Also! I thought you might enjoy the picture I included of Yukine's first day. The other boy with him is his friend, Daigo-kun._

 _Friendly Regards,  
_ _The Iki Family_


End file.
